Gapers Block : Merge : Author

On the Fly
If you've ever been down Ravenswood near Wilson, you might have seen the rather large stickered and logoed truck with bright red, yellow and black graphics that say, "On the Fly." The Chicago Traveler has the scoop: On the Fly is a mobile bike mechanic shop. Joe Ebervein and Rich Kwaitkowski will go where you are to get you on the road again.
Thursday August 30 2007 Transportation

Dark Knight x Brachs Candy Implosion!
The Dark Knight which has been filming in Chicago on and off for the past few months is doing something big. The Brachs Candy factory will be imploded on ~~August the 29th~~ August the 30th between 10:30am and noon. The implosion will be later added digitally into the film for a building explosion. Details here. Update: Note the date and time change. New details here.
Friday August 24 2007 Film

Rearview Submission Change
A quick notice to Rearview contributors and future contributors: Due to the high volume and tracking of submissions, we've streamlined the submissions to only one method — via Flickr. We are no longer accepting submissions via email. Please see the guidelines on our Submissions page. Thanks.
Thursday August 23 2007 Gapers

You're Suspect and Funny
Suspicious Clowns 9 is the current show at the Live Bait Theater and I hear it's good. Quite good. The Reader approves too. Friday and Saturdays all through June.
Friday June 15 2007 Theatre/Dance

Typeface vs. Font
Word from Kartemquin Films regarding their in progress film: "Kartemquin is currently working on Typeface, a documentary about cultural preservation, rural renewal and graphic design history in the Midwest.To support these efforts, we're holding a benefit on June 15th at the Center for Book and Paper Arts here in Chicago. Toad Hollow Vineyards is providing the bubbly, MJ Catering is bringing the sweets and a number of local artists (including Jay Ryan and Dennis Ichiyama) are donating original works for the silent auction." While the much lauded Helvetica opens the same night at the Siskel, it is a weeklong engagement. So, why not support the locals? Looks good to me.
Tuesday June 5 2007 Film

Free Ice Cream
It's that time of year again: Ben & Jerry's has free cone day! Their site isn't letting you use their finder very well but Google Maps has you covered.
Tuesday April 17 2007 Eating/Drinking

NAU Open
The uber-hot outdoor clothing company Nau, which focuses on sustainable and ethical clothing and a new business model as well, is now open in Chicago. Not to mention the fact that their clothes don't look like the neo-hippie earth tones of typical outdoor equipment manufacturers — this stuff can be worn to a club after you're done climbing that rock face. The Chicago retail store (one of four across the country) opened this morning. Where are they? 2118 North Halsted.
Friday April 13 2007 Business/Shopping

Sunday Parkways Forum Discussion
This is a real-life flesh n' blood forum discussion about the proposed Sunday Parkways — a community effort to give communities safe spaces to interact with neighbors. Inspired by Columbia and Mexico, in essence they are traffic-free times on weekends and holidays for pedestrians and cyclists to interact on selected streets. This Wednesday, April 11th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at Richmond Hall in St. Sylvester Church, 2156 N. Richmond St.
Monday April 9 2007 Outdoors/Environment

A Fresh New Sun
The Chicago Sun-Times relaunched their new redesigned paper today. NewsDesigner.com has the details. Steve Rhodes at the Beachwood Reporter has some thoughts on it.
Wednesday April 4 2007 Print/Magazines

GB and You, Tonight, Black Rock, Be There!
In case you missed it, emblazoned across the top there, we're having our monthly get together this evening at the Black Rock (Addison and Damen) from 9PM onwards. We'll be likely in the back area enjoying a pint or two along with some fried mac n' cheese. Hope to see ya there!
Friday January 26 2007 Gapers

Shopping, Now With More Green
The Green Exchange, Logan Square's proposed "green merchandise mart" has launched its website. Dedicated towards green living, the site offers building plans, an FAQ and a forum to discuss the building and issues surrounding its development. [Hat tip: Craig]
Friday January 19 2007 Outdoors/Environment

Bleeding Heart Bleeds Fresh
The Bleeding Heart Bakery located in the latest hotbed of development and hipness (Damen/Chicago) has just re-opened following remodeling. They say, "We want to show the city how we've grown since opening last year- we've transformed everyone's favorite organic bakery into a full café, featuring a new line of sandwiches, a full espresso bar, and a wider selection of ready-to-buy produce and dry goods." Yum.
Thursday January 18 2007 Eating/Drinking

Tense Forms Winter Showcase
Tense Forms, the collaborative multi-disciplinary, project-based workgroup, is holding their 2nd annual Winter Showcase at Subterranean on February the 2nd at 8pm onwards. The showcase features an insane amount of buttons (1000+), a wall of televisions screening all kinds of visual art as well as live music.
Thursday January 18 2007 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Something Fresh, Something New
Increasingly needed in this day and age, A Fresh Squeeze is a site dedicated to green living in Chicago. Primarily a bi-weekly email, the site also offers articles in their archives for a taste of things past.
Thursday January 18 2007 Outdoors/Environment

Bicycle Film Festival '07: Call for Submissions
After last year's small success in Chicago, we've heard word that the Bicycle Film Festival will be back again. Currently, founding director Brendt Barbur and co are looking for new submissions for the 2007 round of film festivals set to take place in up to 15 cities: "We are looking for films with a strong theme or character of bicycles. This includes all mediums and styles such as animation, experimental, narrative, documentary and music videos." The deadline is February the 17th so you have about a month to get going or fine-tune that piece you've been working on. Details at the site or take a look at the flyer here.
Tuesday January 16 2007 Film

Slots in 2007
It's a brand new year and you've got a brand new (or existing) service, product or something to shout about. We've got the space for you to be seen. Slots are open for our Text Ads.
Tuesday January 9 2007 Gapers

Winter Bike to Work Day
Like it's sibling in the summer, the Winter edition of Bike to Work Day coming up features hot beverages and goodies at Daley Plaza this month on the 19th (Friday) from 7 to 9am. The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation hosts activities, a raffle with prizes and the chance to congregate and meet up with your fellow cyclists.
Friday January 5 2007 Transportation

Create Your Own Planets
If today's Rearview photo (courtesy of the ever excellent Archie Florcruz) bewilders you or makes you want to do the same thing, take a look at his entry explaining his photo and then head over to the Create Your Own Planets Flickr pool for info on how to do this.
Thursday January 4 2007 Photography

Pink Loves Brown
At last year's recent DIY Trunk Show, I made my usual rounds looking at who was doing what. The quality keeps getting better and better every year, a testament to those who organize the Trunk Show. However, one vendor caught my eye — Pink Loves Brown. The goods were smart, well-designed, retro-modern and quality. Nicole Balch puts out some really nice stuff — her apartment is quite inspiring, an extension of her work and aesthetic.
Wednesday January 3 2007 Stuff

Take Your Tree Down!
The City of Chicago is once again holding their "Turn Green Into Blue" [PDF] Xmas tree recycling program. On January the 6th, you can bring your tree or a bag of recyclables to one of 23 locations from 9:00am and 2:00pm. You get your tree back in the form of mulch and you get a year's supply of blue bags for your time. Take a look at the PDF flyer for locations.
Tuesday January 2 2007 Outdoors/Environment

Fallen Rider Memorial Ride
A group of Chicago cyclists (myself being one of them) have organized a ride to raise awareness of the growing number of cyclist fatalities in the Chicagoland area. Named the "Fallen Rider Memorial Ride", the ride will start at the Thompson Center at 6pm tomorrow, January the 3rd and will ride to Diversey and Pulaski at an easygoing and respectful pace. The goal? To highlight how important driving and cycling are to Chicago and how the two require attention and respect. A PDF flyer can be viewed, downloaded, printed and passed along from here.
Tuesday January 2 2007 Transportation

Matt's Law Coalition
Following the recent sentencing of an Urbana woman who killed a cyclist while driving and downloading a ringtone to her cellphone, the parents of Matt Wilhelm the deceased, have started a coalition to lobby for a law and education to reduce distracted driving. Looks like that cellphone ban hasn't been working out too well.
Tuesday December 5 2006 Politics/Activism

Local Product, Small Business, Xmas Season?
If you have any of the above, perhaps you might want to advertise here on GB on our new-ish Text Ads. We've got spots open for December, so why not get the word out about your goods or services, just in time for the holiday season?
Monday December 4 2006 Gapers

"Woman" is Sentenced for Cyclist's Death
Jennifer Stark of Urbana kills a cyclist while downloading a ringtone on her phone while driving. She gets the maximum penalty... for improper lane usage! Six months probation, $1K fine and traffic school. ~~Oh yeah, she has a myspace~~. A bizarre, tragic and ridiculous event.
Friday December 1 2006 In the News

A Few Open Spots
Need high visibility, a great audience, intelligent readers and the kind of people you like to flock to your show/product/service? Well, we have just a few spots open in the upcoming week on our new Text Ads system. Come get one!
Wednesday November 22 2006 Gapers

Claim Your Spot
We're full up this week but in the next two weeks (and beyond), we have spots open in our new Text Ads calendar. Text ads? Yep, those, right up top there, on every page on the site.
Monday November 13 2006 Gapers

Sadie Hawkins Day Race
Sadie Hawkins is a fictional day from a L'il Abner strip. However, it is now also a bike race organized to encourage women of all kinds who ride bikes to come out and race for fun, as well as to benefit the Chicago Women's Health Center. There's a pre-race fashion party on Friday, Nov 10th in the Fulton Markets with the race happening on Nov 11th, followed with a post-party the same day. Want to race? Want to have fun? Check out the myspace.
Monday October 30 2006 Sports/Recreation

"For the Not-So-Safe Driver"
Looks like the Chicago Bike Federation has a new website for their Drive With Care campaign. At first, I thought it was real, but then I knew that any memorial like "The Brittany" had to be too good to be true. Well done, chaps.
Monday October 16 2006 Transportation

Worst Music Video Ever?
While Chicago has put out some good videos in recent years (see: OK Go), this video from Jan Terri from 1993 is the exact opposite. I'm not really sure what to think: that it's actually from 1993 but looks like it's from the 80's or how cheesy Chicago looks. However, I have that chorus stuck in my head! [via Jennifer]
Wednesday September 27 2006 Found on the Web

R.A.M.B.L.E.
Friend of GB, scooterist, designer and vegan guide making extraordinaire, PJ Chmiel hits the open road on his scooter on a tour he calls the 2006 R.A.M.B.L.E. Ambitious in scope, it should be quite a ride. Follow along when he kicks off tomorrow.
Monday July 31 2006 Found on the Web

Songs: Illinois
songs:illinois is an excellent little mp3 blog run by Craig Bonell in Oak Park. There's definitely a folk/ acoustic/ singer-songwriter focus but what excites me personally is that I've only heard of maybe one artist on the homepage. A nice deviation from Pitchfork and the like, dig in and discover some new tunes.
Monday July 10 2006 Found on the Web

Behind the Buildings: David Woodhouse
David Woodhouse Architects has a spiffy new site detailing many of the architectural projects that have come out of the studio. Based in Chicago, they're the creatives behind quite a few of the Chicago Institutions you enjoy today. Take a look at the site, meander the buildings and find out the inspiration behind each.
Friday June 30 2006 Arts/Architecture

Really Quick Restaurant Review: Deleece
On the northern tip of the Southport Corridor, at Irving Park, sits Deleece, a stunningly low-priced quality American contemporary restaurant. While they were in the news a few months back when one of the chefs left to start Sola (also very, very good), their fare hasn't suffered one bit. In fact, they've done the opposite and ramped things up a bit, with new dishes that work really well. One of my favorite things about Deleece is their Monday and Tuesday $20 for three-course prix fixe special, which is one of the best values for food in this city. A recent meal included a ham avocado bruschetta, a carmelized on the outside and tender and pink on the inside flank steak prepared with a mole sauce and for dessert, a chocolate mousse that was divine. I'd have easily paid $50-60 for a meal like that. Go!
Thursday June 29 2006 Eating/Drinking

Cartopia 2006 photos
You know those cars with the crazy springs or dolls glued all over them? Well, reader Lotta writes in about her heading out to Cartopia 2006, held in Berwyn, last week where she took photos of all kinds of cars just like that.
Tuesday June 27 2006 Arts/Architecture

Photos from Go Skateboarding Day
I don't follow up on skateboarding like I used to so it was a pleasant surprise to hear about last week's Go Skateboarding Day. You can live vicariously through these Flickr photo sets: here and here.
Monday June 26 2006 Sports/Recreation

4 Star All the Way
On the Reader this week and online too: an excellent feature article on 4 Star Courier, a messengering service comprised of messengers who own, run and do business like it should be done. If you have any say in what company delivers your documents on time, consider 4 Star. They do excellent work.
Friday June 23 2006 City Life/Cultural

No more misses, connect
You may read our Public Notice column about Craigslist's Missed Connections. If you're absolutely addicted to them, you might be interested in delving deeper behind the scenes. GB staffer Jason Maslanka created a website with audio and video (including an interview with Craigslist founder Craig Newmark) called Connect to try to figure it all out.
Friday June 23 2006 Found on the Web

The Splat Flats
Wicker Park has a relatively new (well, new to me anyway) studio space with 28 resident artists: The Splat Flats. If you're curious about the space or would like to check out some of the work being produced, get down there this Saturday, June 24th from 4-9pm when The Splat Flats have an open house show called LumbArt.
Thursday June 22 2006 Arts/Architecture

Hooray T-shirts and Beer!
Friend of GB Cody Hudson drops word of iWANT iT LiKE THiS, a party/live screenprinting event where you can customize your own shirt and get one done live right at the party by LA crew, Hit&Run. The shindig is sponsored by Red Stripe, whose commercials are cracking me up these days. The party goes down this Friday, details here. Hooray!
Wednesday June 21 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

1920s El Posters
There's a stunning set of poster ads commisioned by the Chicago Rapid Transit Company from the 1920s that aimed to encourage people to use public transport over at Chicago "L".org. Those were the days. [Hat tip: April]
Tuesday June 20 2006 Arts/Architecture

Hubwear: ORD > ?
Friend of GB, George Aye has just unleashed his latest idea which I find frickin' cool. It's called Hubwear. Hubwear are t-shirts with airport codes printed on them: the front is first part of the trip while the back is your return leg of the journey.
Monday June 19 2006 Found on the Web

Playing at Potbellys
If you like music with your sandwiches or wish to play MTV's crappiest hits for those indulging in their lunchtime subs, you might be surprised to hear (or play) a tune or two the next time you're at a Potbellys. The Beachwood Reporter has a piece about the local Potbellys and how they stack up musically. And on a side note: local musician Jef Sarver will attempt to break the world record for the longest guitar marathon ever at a Potbellys on June 21-23.
Monday June 19 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

25 for $25
Mon Ami Gabi, the Lettuce Entertain You "French steakhouse" is holding a weather-permitting event in their outdoor cafe at the Chicago location called "25 for $25 — A Tour de France Through Wine at Mon Ami Gabi". What do diners and drinkers get? 25 wines to taste and a sampling of the restaurant's bistro fare (hors d' oeuvres). Sounds like a good deal. The event happens July 11 from 6-8pm and reservations can be made by calling 773-348-8886.
Wednesday June 7 2006 Eating/Drinking

Making Media Connections
The Community Media Workshop here in Chicago is holding a conference tomorrow and Thursday called "Making Media Connections". As they put it: "Join community leaders, nonprofit communicators and board members, mainstream and independent journalists, publishers, media experts and the general public to discuss getting our communities' important stories told." GB staffer and ChicagoBloggers curator, Brian Sobolak and myself will be joining Steve Rhodes of The Beachwood Reporter on Thursday from 1:45-245pm on Thursday, the only day left for registration at the door. We'll be discussing "Emerging Online News Outlets" but there are plenty of other events and discussions going on to pique your interest.
Tuesday June 6 2006 Print/Magazines

Cask Strength
Because Friday is drinky Friday to some, why not get in on some really good scotch? Andrew has posted a very interesting idea and plan that may intrigue some of you. Have a look, oh scotch connoisseur.
Friday June 2 2006 Eating/Drinking

McClain: Triple Threat
Nope, we're not talking about Bruce Willis' die-hard cop John McClane but Shawn McClain, one of Chicago's most exciting chefs (yes, aside from Grant Achatz). He recently was awarded the James Beard for best chef in the Midwest and after showing off the sophistication of seafood and vegetarian at his restaurants, Spring and Green Zebra, he's expanded his repertoire with a more meaty menu in the form of Custom House.
Wednesday May 24 2006 Eating/Drinking

Bike Tour 2K6!
Friends and Chicagoans Andrea and Ira saved money for a year, resigned from their jobs and left for the open road a little over a week ago. On their bikes. They're riding around the country for a year. You can keep up to date and check up on them as they post on the road from the weblog. Earlier posts are informative — lots of information on prepping for such an adventure. I'm jealous too — they look insanely happy.
Tuesday May 23 2006 Outdoors/Environment

The Last Picture Show
While they may be closing, Damen Studio is going out with a bang. Their last show will be appropriately titled, "The Last Picture Show" and features the work of 8 photographers and 5 painters including Rearview contributors, Bill Vaccaro and Sarah Hadley, GB button designer Anthony Lewellen and yours truly. The final show goes down this Saturday, May 20th from 6-9PM at Damen Studio.
Tuesday May 16 2006 Photography

The GB 3rd Anniversary Shindig
We've just announced our 3rd Anniversary Party, which will take place once again at The Hideout on Friday, May 26th. We've packed in more entertainment and bang for your buck and we guarantee a good, if not blatantly drunk time. Our sexy posters this year were designed by the brilliant Laura Park and we're pleased as punch. A limited quantity are available for pre-sale in the shop, but they'll be available at the party as well, alongside some other schwag to get your hands on. Come celebrate with us!
Monday May 8 2006 Gapers

Old Navy, New Magic
Remember Magic? The dog from the Old Navy commercials? Well, Magic the Old has retired and Old Navy is on the hunt for Magic the New. The nationwide search includes a Chicago casting call on May 20, at North Ave Beach (by the boathouse) from noon till 4pm. Contenders will have their photo taken and owners can talk to professional dog trainers and specialists and participate in canine fun. Old Navy is also making a contribution to PAWS Chicago. If you can't make it, you can champion your dog online.
Thursday May 4 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Pilsen Art Walk
Now that the weather is seemingly coming round again, I'll take this opportunity to urge folks to check out Second Fridays in Pilsen. Dubbed the "Pilsen Art Walk", one can walk around the Pilsen area (18th and Halsted and the surrounding streets) to check out the many independent galleries showcasing up and coming artists and their latest work. It's a great cheap way to see art of varying styles and quality and enjoy an area you might not check out regularly. An opening I know will be good: regular GB photo contributor Archie FlorCruz has an opening for his works culled from his popular Whateverland photoblog at Mode Realty from 6-10pm at 818 18th Street, on this month's second Friday, the 12th.
Tuesday May 2 2006 Arts/Architecture

Damen Studio, closed
Sarah Hadley writes in with some sad news — Damen Studio has closed due to the financial and time constraints that come part and parcel with such a endeavor. This also means that the slated Supernatural show that we mentioned will not be happening. Here's to the future successes of both Sarah and Amor!
Wednesday April 26 2006 Photography

Mayo's Bike Day
Fellow cyclist and friend Mayonnaise (a moniker) is having a Bike Day at the loading dock of 800 N. Michigan Ave from 1 to 3:30PM this Friday (4/28). Stop by for a quick in n' out bike tune up. He's doing it out of the goodness of his heart but he'll have a mayo jar for any donations to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. [Apologies for the date mix-up!]
Tuesday April 25 2006 Outdoors/Environment

Mark Sinclair Remembered
I'd heard of Mark Sinclair through various cycling friends but had never met him. I never will. Comedy and Sports editor for Time Out Chicago, Sinclair passed away on April 14th. Family, friends and well-wishers will be meeting tonight at Lula Cafe in Logan Square from 6-8pm, not in mourning but in celebration of Mark. His parents wish those who attend to come in informal dress. If you knew Mark, celebrate the fierce spirit that he was to all who knew him. Jonathan Messinger celebrates him here.
Tuesday April 18 2006 People/Sightings

Threadless's 10 buckeroos sale
T-shirt mavens Threadless have their pretty-often $10 sale going on now. Act fast!
Monday March 20 2006 Found on the Web

The Barefoot Contessa at the Fox
If you're a fan of Ina Garten (of Food TV's Barefoot Contessa fame) like I am, then you might be interested to know that she's appearing today at Fox and Obel downtown at 401 E. Illinois from 4-6pm for a reception where she'll show off some of her stuff and her new line of products. [Thanks Jen!]
Thursday March 16 2006 Eating/Drinking

Sensational Bites
With all the cupcake mania that seems to be ending up in the gullets of people nationwide, I thought I'd point out the extremely good cupcakes available at Sensational Bites, a cafe and bakery along the Southport corridor. They have a particularly good Boston Cream Pie cupcake — vanilla cake with a custard filling topped with chocolate. Cupcakes aren't all they do and their cakes are fantastic. A recent 11-layer Death by Chocolate cake that was roughly 8 inches tall was quite an endeavor — at $5 a slice that lasted you for 3 days or perfect for two, it's quite the deal.
Thursday March 16 2006 Eating/Drinking

Update: Archana Siriam, stupid Hummers and other oddities
We've posted before about Archana Siriam and her unfortunate encounter with a Hummer. I recently discovered that I knew her peripherally and found out that she is recovering well and in good spirits but is unlikely to walk or get on a bike for about three months. Here are photos from one of her friends at the CBF news conference and an uplifting photo at the end of a bruised ndd beat up but smiling Archana. The driver of the Hummer is still unidentified and being sought after.
Wednesday March 1 2006 Transportation

_________ of Chicago
I'd like to point out the Signs of Chicago, the Doors of Chicago and the Windows of Chicago. They are the eyes, ears and mouth of this fine city.
Friday February 24 2006 Photography

Really Quick Restaurant Review: Choppers
You might have seen Choppers while driving down Ashland. They tout themselves as "The Home of the Choppak" which intrigued me for years. The retro exterior is a throwback to the 50's. I visited it finally to sate my curiosity this past weekend and had a choppak. It's a value meal of a double cheeseburger (order the quadruple if you wish), steak cut fries and coleslaw. On the side, I had what they also tout as "Chicago's Best Milkshake". The Choppak was pretty decent: good greasy type food. But the milkshake. It's less than $3, you can mix and match flavours and it's thick enough to give Mickey D's a run for their money in that department. Takes forever to finish, if you can at all. I had the banana (fresh!) and my dining partner had the Oreo Cookie. Need I say more?
Thursday February 23 2006 Eating/Drinking

Chris Saathof Benefit tonight
The 2nd anniversary of Chris Saathof's passing was this past Tuesday. A benefit will be held tonight at The Beat Kitchen (10PM, $10, 18+), featuring The Hot Machines whose member Miss Alex White was Saathof's old musical partner. [Thanks Jennifer!]
Friday February 17 2006 Music/Clubs

What's in a name when it comes to food?
Fluky's changes its name to U Lucky Dawg (generic and ugh - hat tip: Paul). Meanwhile, let us breathe a sigh of relief that Booby's in Niles isn't changing its name.
Wednesday February 15 2006 Eating/Drinking

HB4907 AKA The Boub Bill
If you're involved with local Chicago cycling happenings, you may well be aware of Boub vs. Wayne and the disincentive that the Chicago Bicycle Federation and other parties have been trying to elminate. The good news is that the bill passed 6-4 in the Local Government committee but is now facing tough opposition from the City of Chicago (which started on the 9th of this month). While it may be a little late, it can't hurt to voice your concerns to the Mayor. See what you can do.
Tuesday February 14 2006 Transportation

AsianMack free mixes
While the mix mp3 project Out of 5 might return in the near future, Jamie and the folks at AsianMack are releasing completely free mp3 mixes each month that come with printable AsianMack cover artwork. Look to the northeast.
Monday February 13 2006 Music/Clubs

Around the Coyote Winter Preview
Chicago Living Arts provides us with video, images and audio previews of the upcoming Around the Coyote Winter Arts Festival 2006.
Wednesday February 8 2006 Arts/Architecture

Vegetarian Valentine's Fundraiser
Mercy for Animals is holding a Vegetarian Valentine's Fundraiser at Framing Mode, a south loop art gallery on Saturday the 11th. There'll be catered food, spirits (all you can drink!), a DJ and "Best Dressed in Red" wins some fab prizes — all for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. See Slowdown for more details. Love your animals!
Monday February 6 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Where the Weather Watchers go
If you're down with Tom Skilling like I am (as in, he's the person I go to for the weather), you might be curious where he likes to hang out. Or for that matter Tammie Souza and Phil Schwarz.
Friday February 3 2006 People/Sightings

U of C Press Blog
The University of Chicago Press gets online with the debut of their "The Chicago Blog" (a less mundane title might help them in the long run though). In their words: "Publicity news from the University of Chicago Press including news tips, press releases, reviews, and intelligent commentary." But thus far, there seem to be a few reviews and some opinion on books as well — actual content! Should be worth keeping an eye on.
Friday February 3 2006 Books/Authors

Toy Cameras! And the photos they produce
The Toy Camera Show opens at Damen Studio on Saturday the 4th with a reception. Featuring work from Rearview contributors Sarah Hadley and Bill Vaccaro amongst others, you can take a look at the mysterious allure and amazing photographs that come out of little cheap plastic cameras.
Thursday February 2 2006 Photography

The first Chicago Ghost Bike
The Ghost Bike Project started last year as reminders and memorials to cyclists who had lost their lives tragically to drivers. The first Chicago Ghost Bike has been set up in memoriam of Isai Medina. Photos of the bike have appeared on Flickr taken by April Jacobs (here and here) and by Payton Chung, here. The driver was charged with vehicular homicide in mid-January. More photos from around the country of ghost bikes can be seen here.
Thursday February 2 2006 Transportation

"Off the Beaten Path" Posters, Free!
We like free stuff (for the most part), but these "Off the Beaten Path" posters are wicked cool. Brought to you from Enjoy Illinois, go get one. [Thanks Atul!]
Wednesday February 1 2006 Arts/Architecture

Save Collins High School
We've posted that CPS will be closing four schools with Collins being the only high school (the others are grammar schools). The leadership committee has started a blog to spread information about their campaign to save Collins High School. [Thanks Brian!]
Tuesday January 31 2006 Schools/Education

GB Gettin' Together
Our monthly GB Get Together goes down tonight at The Gingerman (next to the Metro). We'll be in the back. 9PM onwards — more details and such.
Friday January 27 2006 Gapers

I See Jesus or not.
Fellow GB colleague Dave Elfving pointed out in the Flickr version of my Rearview photo today that he didn't quite see what I saw in the photo, until I pointed it out. Incidentally, local photographer and Rearview contributor Margaret Nissen started a "I Saw Jesus" photo pool on Flickr. You can discuss this if you'd like on my Flickr version of today's photo.
Monday January 23 2006 Photography

View of the Sears Tower, 1979
Today's Rearview photo from Cory Dalus is an interesting one. It shows the landscape of Chicago from 1979. You can comment here: Looking Northeast from the Sears Tower, 1979.
Thursday January 19 2006 Photography

Target's a target
Target have taken advertising to the next level. This blog suggests that they've started using their roofs as a huge satellite view version of their billboard (as seen in this Google Map). Kottke suggests that this particular store however could be for the benefit for passengers landing at nearby O'Hare (as seen in this Google Map).
Tuesday January 17 2006 Found on the Web

What's with Western?
Western Avenue as I've known it, is a pretty fast street — the wannabe hot rodders streak their cars up and down Western and you're left playing chicken even if you've got a walk sign. Isai Medina, a 50 year old cyclist was struck and killed in a seven car accident last week. You might remember Chris Saathof's tragedy on Western as well. Be careful on Western. There's just something about the avenue that's like some kind of imaginary line drawn in the sand...
Friday January 13 2006 Transportation

Urbn, pshaw!
Well, Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park continues to push forward with hipster clothing stores. Coming soon: Urban Outfitters.
Thursday January 12 2006 City Life/Cultural

Archinect Schoolblogs
Architecture and design site Archinect is doing another year of their School Blog project (which started last year) by featuring more students in architecture programs at universities and colleges worldwide. This year, there are five Illinois area students blogging about life at architecture school: Tom Denney, Zachary White and Seth Ellsworth at IIT and Angana Shah and Paulina at UIC.
Tuesday January 10 2006 Arts/Architecture

Xtreme Website Makeover Part II
The saga continues. Reader and member of Canasta (who have a fantastic website by the way), Elizabeth writes in informing us that there are two Chicago based websites that qualified for the 10 voting spots eligible for a website makeover. One spot has been given to her site: "I don't know whether to be ashamed or elated." The other spot goes to the Chicago Lawyers Association (who might really need it). Vote away!
Thursday January 5 2006 Found on the Web

Chefs speak on trends
Zagat publishes an article about what the big name chefs want to see in 2006 and look back on the trends of 2005. Rick Bayless and a maitre d' from Alinea have their say amongst the other voices.
Friday December 30 2005 Eating/Drinking

Chicago: "Stick 'em up!"
It seems like we're back to the business of setting records. This year we've had a record 214 bank heists, a surprisingly large number of which have been stick-em-up style movie heists. Thank goodness for online banking.
Wednesday December 21 2005 In the News

Jay Ryan, profiled
Screenprinting legend Jay Ryan has a nice profile in the Sun-Times today. We featured Ryan in 2004 in The Audible City.
Tuesday December 20 2005 Arts/Architecture

Xtreme Website Makeover
Indeed it is true. Intechnic, a local internet solutions company, is offering a $10,000 website makeover for the worst business website out there. You can submit your website with a short story explaining why you think you'd need a website makeover. Heh.
Monday December 19 2005 Found on the Web

Oh Oprah!
Why didn't you say something!
Friday December 2 2005 People/Sightings

You Are Year In Review
As we mentioned earlier this week, You Are Beautiful has been up to some nifty stuff. Incidentally, we just got word that they've now put up a page detailing what they got up in 2005. Check it out.
Friday December 2 2005 Arts/Architecture

Chi XC Cup
The very last of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup races happens this Sunday, 10am at Montrose Harbor: The Illinois State Championship. What is cyclocross you ask? Watch women and men get down and dirty as they go up and down Cricket Hill and bike and then run and then bike around a muddy course. Yes, it's a legitimate cycling race. And hey, you get 10 extra points if you cross-dress for the finals this Sunday! What's not to love?
Thursday December 1 2005 Sports/Recreation

We Are Beautiful
The folks behind You Are Beautiful (you know, the numerous stickers all over the city) have been evolving their work constantly. Currently it seems they're moving toward a more open and loose collaboration aesthetic — allowing the audience to participate more and more. Take a look at some of the stuff they've been doing this year, which is of course, beautiful.
Wednesday November 30 2005 Arts/Architecture

Fixie on the Radio (again)
While this was originally aired on WNYC's Studio 360, a radio piece produced by Jonathan Menjivar that features me waxing poetic about fixed gear bikes will air shortly on WBEZ's 848. If you miss it, I'm sure the archive will provide otherwise, listen in online.
Wednesday November 2 2005 Transportation

VGS vs. House of Liu vs. Revise
Jim over at Veggiesomething just dropped some hot new t-shirts. First up is his new "sub-label" and character line, House of Liu. The "Destroy" t-shirt is both macho yet cute at the same time. I got one, best get yours. In addition, Veggiesomething teamed up with Revise (we got it covered) for a t-shirt as well. Hotness all round. Get 'em here.
Friday October 28 2005 Arts/Architecture

Full Metal jacket
No war here, just one-of-a-kind custom jackets made by some of the hottest designers and artists out there in the Chicago scene (featuring personal fave Cody Hudson). Clothing manufacturer Spiewak is hosting this event to raise awareness and money for the Chicago Women's Health Center. Aside from checking out jackets, music will be provided courtesy of Prefuse 73 so you know this'll be hot. What more could you want in such chilly climes? This Wednesday, 8pm onwards at The Syndicate, a new gallery space in Wicker Park. Be sure to RSVP for the full skinny.
Monday October 24 2005 Arts/Architecture

I *heart* (bikes on) Metra forever
Cyclists who have been using Metra can now rejoice: the trial period is over and today's meeting resulted in bikes on Metra year-round. Cheers all round!
Friday October 21 2005 Transportation

Candy and Candles Ablaze!
If you were anywhere close to downtown, or on the lakefront path anytime past 11pm, you might have noticed a pungent burning smell and a travelling dark thick fog. The source of such might have been a mystery to you (as it was to some friends and I on the lakefront) but I knew that in the morning something this big would be in the news. And it is. A candle factory and part of the closed Brach's Candy Co. each had a massive fire on the West Side. There's some kind of irony in a candle factory burning down, isn't there?
Wednesday October 19 2005 In the News

Luckypix, blog,
Tracking the Midwest creative pulse with a focus on Chicago (they're based here), Luckypix, the stock photography site just started a new blog. We're looking to see how it shapes up over time, but they're off to a good start.
Tuesday October 18 2005 Arts/Architecture

Got Poetry?
ChicagoPoetry.com has announced an open call seeing "under-published" poets and new voices for a limited edition hardbook and online anthology entitled, "American Open Mike: The New American Voice" to be published in January 2006. So get your couplets on.
Tuesday October 18 2005 Print/Magazines

Revise in print, not on walls
One of Chicago's finest graf artists, Revise, has an interview in the lastest Four Magazine. Read it and find out a little more about the way graf artists work and think. [via]
Thursday October 13 2005 People/Sightings

God Bless the South
Designer Chuck Anderson spent a week in Biloxi, Mississipi with his father (the pastor of a church in Orland Park) and 14 other people from Reunion Church in helping out with relief efforts. He documented the trip.
Monday October 10 2005 Photography

Wicker Park Inn
I've often lamented to my friends who ask about alternative lodging in Chicago about the lack of it. By alternative lodging I mean bed and breakfast places or places that aren't hotels, motels or hostels, that are in the city. Wicker Park Inn seems to change all of that. Located in the city, the three-room building provides that "at home" feel that I personally prefer. Pretty affordable rates from $115 to $150 (triple occupancy), it'd be perfect for some of my friends and yours.
Wednesday October 5 2005 City Life/Cultural

[Im]Perfect Articles
Add another stellar t-shirt maker out of Chicago: [Im]perfect Articles are brought to you by a variety of chosen artists, featuring one of my faves, Cody Hudson. And wihout a doubt, his t-shirt (as modelled by friend George Aye) is my favourite as well. You might also enjoy George's little story about wearing Hudson's t-shirt.
Wednesday September 28 2005 Business/Shopping

Movin' the Get Together, but not far
While we've announced that this month's GB get Together was to be at The Hopleaf, space restrictions and private events have made that a no-go. We're moving just up the street a block or two to Charlie's Ale House. Same time, same neighbourhood, different bar.
Tuesday September 27 2005 Gapers

A Few Good Bands
With our newest section, Transmission, we've been showcasing local musical artists and we're taking submissions. If you'd like to be considered, take a look at the section and send in some info to me at nh [at] gapersblock [dot] com.
Wednesday August 31 2005 Gapers

The 7 Wonders of Chicago?
The Chicago Tribune has announced it's nominees for the 7 Wonders of Chicago. Pretty typical stuff (the voting begins Sept 9) but the article on Chicago's Seven Lost Wonders is much more intriguing.
Tuesday August 30 2005 City Life/Cultural

Get it together: August
And if you like beer gardens, low-key bars in popular neighbourhoods and hanging out with people who make websites and other good things in their time, well, the Gapers Block Get Together tonight might be right up your alley. At the Inner Town Pub, 9PM onwards.
Friday August 26 2005 Gapers

Photos of shoes and feet from down below
Somewhere between a photolog, a shoe/feet fetishists dream and ground level perspective is a site called, "Come Here! I Want to Show You Something!" that chronicles the aforementioned via photographs. And every so often the occasional Chicago city photo. And don't even ask me how I found it.
Thursday August 18 2005 Photography

Missing One Josh Powell
At a small alleycat race I co-hosted recently, I was fortunate enough to meet a young man named Josh Powell. He was fast, won the race and was really humble — a nice polite guy. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Josh moved here quite recently and used to work at La Bodega on Addison and "lived" in the Southport/Addison area. Now he's been missing for a few days.

His roommates, two girls, posted on BikeForums.net wondering where he might be. A few of us who he'd been in touch and ridden with responded. What at first sounded like perhaps a bailed rent situation seems to have gotten worse. This newer thread details a few recent facts, and that he left his stuff, clothes, even bike shoes (his bike needed them to be ridden) and other belongings behind. A friend has posted on Craigslist about this as well.

In the off chance that you might know him or have seen him, please drop me a line at nh{at}gapersblock dot com. A missing persons report has been filed and a detective is on the case. Thanks.

Wednesday August 10 2005 People/Sightings

Open Source / Open Ear
As music becomes more and more experimental or less and less traditional, outlets have opened up for the budding "musician" to explore different venues for their creativity. Open Source / Open Ear is a two-week (now in its last week) exhibition at Mess Hall that invites you to come out and contribute your aural creativity to a live installation. Visit the site to find out how to participate or take a better look at what the project entails.
Tuesday August 9 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Photos and food
Regular Rearview contributor and featured photographer, Matthew Taplinger tells us he has some photos up and hanging around the walls at Bite, the restaurant that's next door and part of the Empty Bottle. Since I like Matthew's photos and I like the food at Bite, I would like to find myself surrounded by those soon.
Wednesday August 3 2005 Photography

Wear your best kicks
I'm an ex-shoe hoarder. I used to buy shoes regularly. These days, very little impresses me since the revival of the classics and the many athleisure shoes everyone is spinning these days. However, that doesn't mean I don't stock up on all the many sneaker books that are being released lately. And so with glee, I'm happy to hear that Sneaker Pimps is coming to town (no, not the band). The exhibition opens this Friday at Open End from 8pm till late. There'll be live skating from the Uprise crew, live art installations and DJs. As an added bonus, our good friends at Fizzie Fuzzie have participated in designing a shoebox, so Chicago will be out in full force.
Tuesday August 2 2005 Arts/Architecture

More Google Earth fun for Chicago
Because Google Earth continues to astound, Atul from Toolness has some neat Chicago overlays from a sociological and historical vantage. One of the neatest ties in with the GB Book Club's current book read, Heat Wave: "I initially set up this overlay so I could more easily relate to some of the concepts covered in Heat Wave, which in one chapter makes frequent references to these community areas."
Monday August 1 2005 City Life/Cultural

For fans of Jay Ryan/Bird Machine
Sweet.
Monday August 1 2005 Arts/Architecture

Google Earth Chicago
It only took some time before mods would appear specific to Chicago for Google Earth (have you played with it yet? Fascinating time-sucking fun!). Sam Perkins-Harbin has created a few interesting overlays such as the CTA, Chicago Weather and Chicago Traffic. Get them at his site.
Friday July 29 2005 Resources

Chicago is overpriced?
With quite a few friends buying homes lately and proclaiming that now's the time to buy, it's surprising that Forbes has ranked Chicago fourth for overpriced places to live. The logic seems flawed: New York is rightfully ranked higher (though Seattle tops the list) and yet San Francisco comes in at sixth. Huh?
Thursday July 28 2005 City Life/Cultural

You Am I
Purveyors of the finest in positive street art, You Are Beautiful is showcasing it's "You Am I" book exhibition at Open End Gallery this Saturday from 6-11pm. The exhibition displays the 111 books that went out into the world to be creatively stamped by many and returned. A $5 dollar donation is suggested, which will go towards funding similar projects.
Wednesday July 27 2005 Arts/Architecture

Forbes.com Best of the Web: GB!
Forbes.com just released their Best of the Web Directory and we've been fortunate enough to make it to their City Blogs list. Cheers all round!
Tuesday July 26 2005 Gapers

Authors Roundtable tonight!
Authors Roundtable tonight. Put on by us, moderated by Andrew. Sulzer Library in Lincoln Square. Come, listen, talk. (And tomorrow night, the Bookslut Reading Series!)
Monday July 25 2005 Books/Authors

Fluff, a guilty pleasure
The Sun-Times recently incorporated a new section called Fluff — The Chicago Sun-Times' Guilty Pleasure, reads the subhead — into the paper. If you're curious about it, Newsdesigner has posted spreads from the section, which we have to admit might have some sass.
Monday July 25 2005 Print/Magazines

Hardcore Histories
Mess Hall (which deserves an entry of its own) in Rogers Park is hosting a series of events called Hardcore Histories on the 21st, 23rd and 31st of July. Not quite about the sordid pasts of particpants and artists, the series will showcase and discuss hardcore punk and its offshoots from the early 80's to who's shaking things up today. The first day kicks off with a presentation and listening session called "Short, Fast, and Loud: A Seven-Inch Survey" — dig those records out and crank to 11 please.
Monday July 18 2005 Music/Clubs

Talking about heat
We've been having a real summer this year for the first time since '99, when we had temps above 100 degrees and blackouts! On that note, The Public Square, an intellectual group, is hosting a conversation between Eric Klinenberg, author of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago and WBEZ's 848 host Steve Edwards tomorrow evening from 6:30-8pm at the Illinois Humanities Council and the Children and Family Justice Center of Northwestern Law School. They will discuss the heat wave and events surrounding the summer of 1995. More details here.
Wednesday July 6 2005 City Life/Cultural

Small and Round and new
Small and Round, Chicago artist Jeremiah Ketner's work and world of fancy has been updated with a year's worth of work. Which means that there's now stuff for sale. Go, buy and hang a piece of excellent art on your wall.
Wednesday July 6 2005 Arts/Architecture

Huff on the make
If you can't get enough GB, you might be interested to know that Editor-In-Chief Andrew Huff is guest blogging for Coudal Partners this month. Expect things you won't see here over there. And, if that's not enough, Andrew's personal site, Me3dia has been redesigned by ahem, me.
Tuesday July 5 2005 Gapers

Fixie (and me) on the radio
A while ago, I was interviewed for a radio piece about fixed gear bikes for Studio 360, a WNYC/Public Radio show that gets aired everywhere across the nation in cities except Chicago. Funny since it was produced here. Fortunately, there's online radio and while thousands across the nation will hear me wax poetic about bikes, we in Chicago can listen online (lower right, Design for the Real World).
Friday July 1 2005 Radio/TV

Beanie Baby
I'm not sure where Bent got their inspiration but I'm sure some Chicago socialites would love to have this pram to tote their baby around the Bean. [Hat tip: The Box Factory]
Wednesday June 29 2005 Arts/Architecture

Getting together today
For a change of pace and with so many things happening on the weekends this summer, we're trying something new with the GB Get-Togethers. To try to rouse up some mid-week relief and escape the post-work drudgery or vegging out on the couch with some AC, we're doing these on the last Tuesday of every month. And today's the first one. We're starting earlier, too -- 7pm -- so come out to Green Eye Lounge (right below the Western Blue Line stop) and have a drink with us. See ya later.
Tuesday June 28 2005 Gapers

BIke to Work Routes
This is super handy: Bike to Work Routes. Low-fi, direct and sparse, these simple routes to get you around the suburbs come with a one-way distance, an average time, directions and cool ascii maps. What are you waiting for? Ride on!
Thursday June 23 2005 Outdoors/Environment

I went on a scenic boat tour of Chicago and all I got was...
Burlesque Design make some very very nice posters and artwork. They also have a killer store with some of the best intricate silkscreened posters I've seen. But, the best item might just be a t-shirt they have (sadly now sold out) about a certain incident in Chicago involving the Dave Matthews Band — scroll down all the way to the bottom on the right. Here's a detail shot.
Wednesday June 22 2005 Found on the Web

The Muffin Lady, now with t-shirts
Many of you will no doubt have seen or heard of The Muffin Lady (Glorious Noise entry). Some of you may have even bought muffins from her. The folks over at 1974 Incorporated (they're also the folks who made our t-shirts) have a "Save the Muffin Lady" t-shirt with all proceeds going to Shirley (The Muffin Lady's real name).
Wednesday June 22 2005 People/Sightings

Drawn Out
Our friend Terence Hannum informs us of an interesting art showing entitled Drawn Out at Gallery 400. The opening reception is this Thursday from 5-8pm. It sounds tasty: "Drawn Out explores expanded practices of drawing (for example, drawing as sculpture or drawing as video) with works that are both literally sculptural or time-based and works that remain two dimensional but are no less influenced by the new scope of possibilities in drawing."
Tuesday June 21 2005 Arts/Architecture

Dolorous Canter has a listening party
Full disclosure: this is shameless self-promotion. This week's Transmission artist, Dolorous Canter also happens to be a band I play in. Our new EP, For What You Thought Was Once Dead (oooh, lengthy title) is now out and we've teamed up with the good folks at Rotofugi to hold a listening party this Friday, June 24th from 8pm till 10:30pm. We're playing the EP twice but also playing the artists and sounds that have influenced us. Free copies of the EP will be given out and beverages will be provided. Consider this sort of a rock lounge happy hour, except later.
Tuesday June 21 2005 Music/Clubs

Batman and a different Chicago
As we've noted a few times before, the restarted Batman franchise, Batman Begins has extensive shots of Chicago as Gotham. I saw it last night and was amazed at how much of Chicago was actually used. A fun game of spot the bridge, "Which part of Lower Wacker was that?" and "What rooftop building is that?" ensued post-movie. The el however has been replaced by a much slicker monorail system which I doubt the CTA will ever be. Also, I agree with Ebert, this is the Batman I've been waiting for.
Thursday June 16 2005 Film

GB Flickr Pool update
The Gapers Block Flickr Group has been in a really good swing lately. Lots of great Chicago stuff in there which plays well with Rearview here on the site. To make it easier for those of you considering or are submitting images for Rearview and who use Flickr, what you can do now is submit an image to the GB group and tag it with the additional "gbrearview" tag so we can use it.
Thursday June 16 2005 Gapers

Riding in circles
On Sundays, a few of us get together and visit the Northbrook Velodrome for training and learning the ropes on how to race on the track. This is an exciting year for the velodrome as track racing interest has been high and new riders are coming out to race. Women and Juniors are highly welcome and there has been an increase in numbers for those. Visit the site for more info and learn about it. It's less daunting than you think and a lot of fun from a participant or viewer perspective. Take a look at some photos I took from last weekend's session.
Tuesday June 14 2005 Sports/Recreation

Oh, the newer feeds
Christian wrote in to tell us our feeds are sort of wonky. They're not really — when we upgraded Movable Type, the feeds changed into several formats depending on which flavor you prefer. Before the upgrade we had made some custom changes to the old feeds which are no longer necessary with the upgrade. The best two you can use are the Atom feed or the RSS 1.0 feed for that full on flavor, in case you were using the lacking RSS 2.0 feed.
Thursday June 9 2005 Gapers

Now, in the shop: new buttons
The new buttons we mentioned earlier are now available in the shop. Complete your collection!
Monday June 6 2005 Gapers

Manifest 2005
Who doesn't like free outdoor events? Tomorrow, Columbia College puts on their daylong 15 exhibition artwalk and sale called Manifest that celebrates grad students from all of their departments. Music is never afar and Grammy winners Ozomatli (they are good!), hip-hop stud Saul Williams and fronting the jazz beat, Steve Turre take to three stages. Starts at 11am and ends at 9:30pm and, again, admission is free. (Hat tip to Sarah who's got the inside scoop).
Thursday June 2 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Making Media Meta
Community Media Workshop is hosting a large conference today and tomorrow entitled "Making Media Connections". You can still register (follow the link prior) and there are various prices for the different sessions. GB co-founder and editor-in-chief Andrew Huff will be on a panel with Eric Zorn and Barbara Iverson called "Blogging and how it's transforming the media landscape". Now if this isn't all geeky enough for you, read Andrew's post, Eric's post and Barbara's post. Once that's done and it all makes complete sense to you, give yourself a pat on the back and then write a post about it.
Wednesday June 1 2005 Weblogs

Oh wow, it's nature!
While walking to get ice cream last night (yes!), a stunning bus stop billboard caught my eye. The Chicago Botanic Gardens has a campaign called "Just One Look" with the site OhWow.org as the address (it shows a brief glimpse of the poster before redirecting you to their special events page). What they're mysteriously telling you is that this summer (starting tomorrow actually), the gardens will be open till 9pm everyday and at sunset each day, the freshly unveiled Evening Island will be lit up. As one of my favorite places in Illinois, this should be a real treat
Wednesday June 1 2005 Outdoors/Environment

Prefab is fab
A lot of hype has surrounded pre-fabricated housing lately. From IKEA's venture into mass-produced homes to Dwell Magazine's most recent issue dedicated to it, it is quickly becoming a lower cost alternative to building your first modern home from scratch. As another (and to me, preferred) option to the condoliths (as coined by Andrew) that are spreading all over the city, you may want to look into it. Fortunately, The Field Museum think it's important too and has a temporary exhibit about it called "Design Innovations in Manufactured Housing."
Wednesday May 18 2005 Outdoors/Environment

Poster makers making posters
This Friday, Foundation Gallery opens their latest show revolving around stellar (and my favorite) poster makers Aesthetic Apparatus, who have strong roots in the Midwest. Of course there's The Bird Machine here in Chicago, too. But there's more: The Heads of State make some beautiful stuff, and there's quite a few Wilco posters that they've done -- this one just about makes me cry. Speaking of posters, we'll have a nifty one done by Crosshair here in Chicago for our 2nd Anniversary Party on the 20th.
Thursday May 5 2005 Arts/Architecture

Version>05
It's yet another year for Version, now in its fifth incarnation, and the program and multitude of events is vast. Beginning this Friday and spanning 10 days, the festival features some recent projects and artists that have been making news in Chicago. There's a lot of stuff to wade through, so get cozy and intimate with who and what you want to see when.
Thursday April 21 2005 Arts/Architecture

New things to stick
Because I am so very very fond of the You Are Beautiful project, I am pleased to announce that they now have new white on clear stickers. They're sexy. I'm getting some. You should too and then spread the love.
Wednesday April 20 2005 Arts/Architecture

Neighborhoods, photos of
An ambitious photography project but stunning and vast nonetheless, Chicago Neighborhoods: Photographs of Life in the Neighborhoods of Chicago deserves your attention and a lengthy look-see.
Monday April 18 2005 Photography

CutieCooties
Chicago has a healthy toy scene, with shops like Rotofugi supporting plushie creators like FizzieFuzzie, Spasmodica and Shawnimals. You can add CutieCooties to that list. The sister duo make all kinds of crafty goodness (methinks Chicago is a hotpot for crafty folks) but I'm most taken with the Plush Toys.
Wednesday April 13 2005 Arts/Architecture

Asianmack, now powered by Jeepney
Your favorite local-based music filter/reviewer and mine, AsianMack has returned with a fresh, fun and new design. I'm overly fond of bright, eye-catching designs that make me feel all warm inside and this new design makes the good content stand out even more. Nice job Jamie & co. They've also started making free legal mixes available for download -- a great idea. You can start with their latest.
Thursday April 7 2005 Found on the Web

Copia - NotIfButWhen
Brial Ulrich/NotIfButWhen, who we had the pleasure of meeting face to face last night, presented a stellar slide show of his latest project, Copia. Luckily for us, he also has the project on his site. So, so worth a look.
Wednesday April 6 2005 Photography

Vespine Studio
Getting one's artwork out there can be rough. I'm fond of visiting Vespine, a studio and gallery in the Pilsen arts area which usually has some stellar photography work. A visit to their website turns up some interesting methods of working: they take no commission on sales but they do ask the artist to pay a fee (two types consisting of basic and premium) for showing their work and arranging all the refreshments on opening night. The Basic plan gets you a month with three days a week open to the public for $250 — a decent deal. For $400, you get bumped up to the Premium plan which gets you 10 bottles of wine (I hope this isn't Charles Shaw) and you can negotiate extra hours if need be.
Thursday March 31 2005 Arts/Architecture

Qualityround
Friend Susan Evenson creates some really nice things, most notably her paintings speak a lot of good things to me, mostly of a whimsical, inspiring and resonating nature. I'm particularly taken by "Before You Go" and I get a delightful kick out of "Shy".
Wednesday March 30 2005 Arts/Architecture

Dolan Geiman back in Chicago
I've been keeping track of Dolan Geiman's work ever since I purchased two pieces from him outside of Earwax a few summers ago, in a makeshift shop he set up on the street out of a vintage suitcase. After setting up shop successfully in Pilsen, Geiman and crew decided to up and try their hand at New York. After that stint, the word is that he's back in the city he loves doing what he does best. Which is a lot. Take a look.
Thursday March 24 2005 Arts/Architecture

More TDC
Stage 4 of the Tour Da Chicago goes down this Sunday the 13th with registration at 8AM with a 8:45AM race start. This one sounds good — a scavenger hunt around our beautiful city. Time Out Chicago recently published an article about the series of races. I'll be there, will you?
Friday March 11 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Gorillasuit
I'm overly fond of bright, whimsical and well designed personal sites — the kind that inspire you and draw you in to explore with no one section the same as the other. Remember those days? When the web was still much more freeform rather than a blog template? Add to the mix a healthy sense of humor, a unique identity and you have the work of one Arthur Jones, also known as Gorillasuit. Currently on the Monster Loteria Tour, showcasing the videos of Jones and Jim Finn, the work coming out of Gorillasuit is fantastic. Take for instance, the paint-by-numbers pledge premiums for This American Life on WBEZ or the gut-busting twistedness that is Magic Pants.
Tuesday March 8 2005 Arts/Architecture

Chris Ware on TV, in France
Fans of Chris Ware take note: the acclaimed graphic novelist was on the French television channel Arte. Blogged by Kempa, the episode is now available also from Kempa, as a bittorrent file.
Wednesday March 2 2005 Arts/Architecture

Dog show!
Anyone remember that skit from SNL with Will Farrell? I always sing that little drummed theme song when I think of a dog show. Speaking of which, Benhuh has posted some funny, interesting and oh-so-cute photos of our fellow canine friends at the recent 2005 IKC Dog Show, which recently took place at McCormick Place. This one kills me!
Monday February 28 2005 Photography

GB T-shirts, now cheaper
Because we'd like to fund some upcoming projects and the bigger and better than ever annual Gapers Block party, we've dropped t-shirt prices to a scant $12 inclusive of shipping! You deserve one, so snap one up.
Monday February 28 2005 Gapers

Douglas P. King
As the caretaker to two cats, I'm quite alright when you write about cats on your site. Last night though, it broke my heart a little (as it has in recent months with fellow friends with felines) to read about the passing of Douglas P. King, the friend, feline and companion to Chicago designer Patric King (infamous in recent months for the Gawker Empire's spread). Start here and read back and forth.
Wednesday February 23 2005 Weblogs

New headlines at the Tribune
Recently redesigned Newsdesigner (a brilliant site about the design of what else, newspapers) talks about the Chicago Tribune's print edition and its new cleaner headline type. Looking sharp (pun intended). On a side note, you can also see today's front pages (for the Sun-Times and Tribune) everyday at Newsdesigner.
Thursday February 17 2005 Print/Magazines

Frozen Snot Century
Next weekend, a rabble of cyclists will roll into Chicago from Milwaukee to join us Chicagoans for the monthly Critical Mass ride. Some Chicago cyclists will join our northern friends back to Milwaukee on Saturday morning for a 100 mile ride. On Sunday the Chicagoans ride back home. What is this insanity you may ask? The Frozen Snot Century.
Thursday February 17 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Got an iPod but no time or are lazy?
Here's an interesting idea: For those with iPods and no time (or are too lazy) to rip your music collection from CDs, there's an answer for you. Local company RipItDigital will rip a CD for a buck and then load it onto your iPod or MP3 player for $10 (sale price, regularly $20). They'll even pick up and deliver or tutor you on how to use your newfangled thingmajig music player. Calling all chads and trixies!
Thursday February 10 2005 Business/Shopping

Rogerspark.com
When I first moved to Chicago, I lived in Rogers Park. A good three years went by before I moved closer to downtown for work but I look back fondly on the neighborhood. A remarkably diverse and sometimes misunderstood neighborhood, I wished there was better information about it. RogersPark.com fills that need with various community-building events, contests, resources and more. Good stuff.
Tuesday February 1 2005 City Life/Cultural

Read media or be a...
MediaReader. Early this afternoon I met Dave Laney. If you didn't already recognize the name, he's the singer/guitarist for Milemarker and his newer project Challenger. But in his other time he also manages a site and, more importantly, a small print magazine called MediaReader. Issues, which Laney has made easily available via the web or PDF formats, feature writings by fellow bandmate and zine legend writer Al Burian (of Burn Collector infamy). There's a lot of interesting subjects to explore on the state of various "scenes" and the country, so go read some new perspectives and takes.
Friday January 21 2005 Print/Magazines

Ta-da List
Everyone makes lists. Some people love making lists. All the High Fidelity followers believe in Lists. So, what do you do if you're a web design firm? You make a FREE site where you can host your very own lists. Ta-da!
Wednesday January 19 2005 Found on the Web

Ian Dingman: Simplicity is best
Every so often, when a site goes for simple, it can be too simple. However, Ian Dingman's sparse site only enhances his artwork and forces you to pay attention to what's really important. I'm overly fond of the chairs (one, two) and his Flat File section is excellent, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. A site for sore eyes indeed.
Wednesday January 19 2005 Arts/Architecture

OMG Clothing: SkinnyCorp do it again
Not content to sit on their massive pile of t-shirts, SkinnyCorp are once again at it with another t-shirt site, this time you don't have to be a designer — just a witty slogan will do. OMG Clothing works like Threadless in that you submit, it gets scored and it gets printed. However, this time, you're just submitting slogans. Pretty 'effin cool we say.
Thursday January 13 2005 Found on the Web

Car dealers can really be pricks
On that freshly launched Cartype, Carlos Segura posts an interesting story about trying to test drive (and perhaps buy) a Ford Mustang. Because I absolutely hate when businesses are complete pricks, let it be known that North Ridge Ford and especially TV-ad-saturated Al Piemonte Ford fall in those categories. At least if you're trying to buy a Mustang. Tsk, tsk.
Tuesday January 11 2005 Transportation

Tour Da Chicago gets press
The most recent alleycat race from the Tour Da Chicago series that took place this past Sunday garnered the attention of the Tribune. "Rogues Race Under the Radar" looks at a glimpse of one of the stages in the series. I wasn't present for this one (chalk it up to oversleeping) but will be doing so. I suggest cycling enthusiasts to come out, for the camaraderie or for the simple thrill of biking in winter.
Monday January 10 2005 City Life/Cultural

First Chicago Photobloggers Meet-up
So you keep a photolog in Chicago and would like to meet fellow like-minded peeps? Well you can. The Chicago Photobloggers are getting together for the first time this Sunday January 9th at Puck's at the MCA. Snap a photo or two for us will ya?
Friday January 7 2005 Photography

3" From the Street
While I don't skate too often anymore, I still love the skateboarding culture and how it embraced me when I was a young 'un as the first 'sport' I could ever really get into. Thus I am super excited that Rotofugi's newest art show is all about skateboards. This travelling art show, titled 3" From the Street collects the works of twenty artists spanning the globe who have customized skateboards in their own unique style. Curator Joshua Brown states, "I and those like me, come from this subculture, the culture influenced by this simple wooden toy." The exhibitions opens Jan. 11 through Feb. 19 with an opening night on Friday, January the 14th. If you know Rotofugi's opening nights, then you know there'll be good beverages, good music and great people.
Thursday January 6 2005 Arts/Architecture

Veggiesomething: new works
Our friend and fellow comrade, James Liu is churning out some really nice stuff as part of his Veggiesomething and FizzieFuzzie empires. His Funny Club Figure is neat and will be travelling the world as part of the Funny Club Show which will hit Chicago March 3rd at your favourite designer toy store and mine, Rotofugi. Also of note is the soon to be released White Panda Plushie which looks to be exclusive to Rotofugi. Good toy works coming out of these parts.
Wednesday January 5 2005 Arts/Architecture

New Threadless, new contest
The good folks over at Threadless, who have been clothing those of discerning tastes, have an all new site and a brand new contest — $2005 cash prize for 2005.
Tuesday January 4 2005 Found on the Web

When bikes ruled Chicago
The Tribune posted a nice slice of history concerning Chicago's ever-growing love affair with cycling. It's a nice read for those interested in bikes, but also a love letter to Chicago's strong cycling past.
Monday January 3 2005 Transportation

43 Things
The Robot Co-op and 37 Signals have launched 43 Things — a site where you can track things you want to do, or rather, goals. The site itself is similar to Flickr and Friendster (and even integrates with Flickr and other popular weblog systems) — you can see who else is trying to achieve your goal, what they do, etc. More social software, more community building.
Monday January 3 2005 Found on the Web

Lake.Sky.Vans live
Melissa Weimer, friend of GB, alerts us that the segment she did with Steve Edwards on WBEZ's 848 show will be re-airing today at 10am, which is like, now. It's in anticipation of her upcoming solo show for Lake.Sky.Vans -- her ongoing fascination with the three subjects that dot the Chicago landscape -- which will be hung in Heaven Gallery in Wicker Park from January 14th through February 19th. Opening reception is on January the 14th from 7pm till 11pm.
Wednesday December 29 2004 Photography

Metropolis turns one
Swell coffee shop Metropolis (in Rogers Park) turns one today (and I'm glad they were able to!) and during this anniversary week, they're giving away a free Metropolis poster for the first 50 people to buy a pound of coffee. Why is this important aside from celebrating another independent business? Well that poster's a Jay Ryan Bird Machine production.
Monday December 20 2004 Eating/Drinking

ACME Novelty Toy Gallery
Niem Tran, an illustration and animation student, has a wonderful gallery of revered Chicago graphic novelist Chris Ware's paper toys that can be found from several of his comics and books.
Monday December 20 2004 Arts/Architecture

Project for Public Spaces - Hancock
The Project for Public Spaces "...is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities." I love the idea behind this organization, dedicated to preserving and enhancing current public spaces to be better utilized for the general public. One of the nominees for their Great Public Spaces is none other than the plaza at the foot of the John Hancock building. I have to agree, in the summer, it's one of the nicer eat-lunch-ouside/people watching places to be.
Friday December 17 2004 Arts/Architecture

A t-shirt deal of sorts
If you come to tonight's get together, not only would you get some free stickers, or a button, but you could purchase a t-shirt (limited quantities on hand of course) for $15 in person. Save $3 bucks! Otherwise, see you there, drink in hand.
Friday December 10 2004 Gapers

You Are Beautiful: Inspiring Works
The people behind You Are Beautiful are spreading their message further — with the help of some friends. Inspiring Works is a must see. Be on the lookout, a few You Are Beautiful installations are still up around the city (hint — an excellent one on Ashland, south of North Ave., look closely).
Tuesday December 7 2004 Arts/Architecture

Oh those t-shirts!
A big thanks to the first few people who've bought the new sexy GB T-shirts, we hope you enjoy getting comfortable in them and the vast accolades of how sexy you look that will soon come your way. We'd also like to thank the people who wrote in and noted a few ordering snafus — we've now made it easier to order the shirts by placing a drop down so you can select your size right there and then! So go ahead — maybe someone you know would like their stocking stuffed with one of these, Christmas is just around the corner...
Monday November 29 2004 Gapers

"...any color so long as it's black!"
If you haven't noticed by the rather large ads popping up in the middle column over there, we finally got our t-shirts in. They look great, come in a variety of styles and sizes for women, men and everyone. Get yours today in the GB Shop (where we also have buttons, posters and free stickers!) Update: We apologize to those who've been trying to order shirts - our PayPal woes are now fixed!
Tuesday November 23 2004 Gapers

Squirrelfishing
I was reminded of how to catch a squirrel at this past weekends kick arse DIY Trunk Show. As Pulaski Park is a haven for squirrels, it came up in a conversation with some friends. I then remembered my dear friend Annie's guide to catching squirrels or rather, Squirrelfishing.
Thursday November 18 2004 Outdoors/Environment

GB Mail List, back in full effect
Many of you may have woken up to an email asking you to confirm your subscription to "The Party Line" our weekly mail list written by Brian (you really should subscribe, it's hilarious and poignant). When we moved servers a few weeks ago, we also decided to use a much better, faster, stronger mailing list system, and thus, you've all been asked to confirm your susbscriptions due to strict anti-spam policies. The Party Line is back this week and a glorious email will be sent out this evening.
Thursday November 18 2004 Gapers

Skim the Fat
If you're looking for a constantly updated and comprehensive list of skateboarding videos, you need not look further than Skim the Fat. Pete and Jerry and The Army have reviewed (at this count) 542 skate videos. That's a lot. Some nice features include a tracklist of the soundtrack featured in a video, which as many skaters know is great because some videos don't list those and when you're trying to find out what song that was during that one skater, it's bloody nice to have that. Also send a buck in to the HQ (local, of course) and get some hilarious stickers.
Monday November 15 2004 Found on the Web

Stasisfield
Rearview contributor (today's in fact) Alessandra Gillen belongs to a collective of sorts, called Statisfield. The site deals with experimental audio and visual art (with a strong focus on the audio) and is nicely designed. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on there so whatcha waiting for?
Wednesday October 27 2004 Found on the Web

You Are / I Am Books released
You Are Beautiful, purveyors of fine guerilla arts have released their You Are/I Am books out into the public. Reminiscent of the 1000 Journals Project, you can find out how to get a book or take a sneak peek at some pages of the ongoing project.
Monday October 25 2004 Arts/Architecture

Look at your Luckyface
Luckyface, another (but good!) online creative endeavor, has some standout features. Of particular note, the photo essay about the Burgoo Festival in Utica, IL is like getting small glimpses of lives you don't know and Left of the Middle is an excellent photo travelogue from Chicago to the wild west.
Tuesday September 28 2004 Found on the Web

The Cult of Kinsella
I'll pose this to you: What is the fascination with Tim Kinsella (lookee! A homepage!) ? For those not in the know, Tim (and his brother Mike) could be considered Chicago indie music royalty, having played in (and continue to play in) Cap N' Jazz, Joan of Arc, American Football, Owen, Owls, Friend/Enemy, Make Believe and countless other side projects that have turned them into their own game of Six Degrees of Kinsella. Other people write about the Kinsellas and their proliferation. You may have seen him around Chicago, the last time I saw Tim was at Arturo's Tacos at two in the morning. Spot a Kinsella today!
Monday September 27 2004 People/Sightings

New Revol
Ah, another issue of stellar art/design magazine Revol is now online for your viewing pleasure. They've also got some new pins in their store, My favourites would be by killer illustrators KozyNDan and those hot world-peace-goodwill styled ones by Reach. Good stuff coming out of Chicago these days, good stuff.
Thursday September 23 2004 Found on the Web

You Are Beautiful: New Work
The people behind You Are Beautiful are doing many many things. Most of all, the installations/public art pieces are always a treat and without further ado: new installations.
Wednesday September 22 2004 Arts/Architecture

The Bloomingdale Trail
You may have heard of NYC's High Line but have you heard of The Bloomingdale Trail? An old freight railway, Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail are trying to turn it into an elevated multi-use public space. Possible uses would be for running, biking, and general recreation. You can read up on the history or go directly to the FAQ or if you live in the Bucktown and surrounding areas, become a member. [Via Fueled by Coffee]
Tuesday September 21 2004 Outdoors/Environment

Stand up and Revol now!
A new-ish online magazine (in that oh so trendy pseudo magazine rendered in Flash style), Revol looks to be a keeper. Co-produced by a sister in Chicago and a brother in LA, they've got three issues up for your enjoyment and the newest one — a mixture of found objects, collages, stellar photography and miscellany — is perfect to wake you up a little bit this morning. It even features one of our faves, Brian Ulrich who's popping up all over the place (hint: he's got a feature in the new issue of Subsystence) As they say on their site, "Keeping up the fight."
Tuesday September 14 2004 Found on the Web

Subsystence, Vol 3. out now!
Our friends at Subsystence have launched a new volume of their excellent web presence. Their events section (on the home page) is well worth checking out for quality stuff you may not have heard of around the city, and who doesn't like free downloads? I may be biased but the two photo exhibits, Copia and China in Polaroid kick a$$.
Monday September 13 2004 Found on the Web

If you want to see your mate nipply nipple, just turn it hight and watch them blow away
Perusing the Craigslist For Sale ads, I came across this site by a fellow in Deerfield who's auctioning off his stuff; he's moving to Japan. The descriptions! I bust a gut.
Friday September 10 2004 Found on the Web

For the Birds
For the Birds: An Amazing Exhibition of Bird Houses has been showing at the Clark House Museum, Chicago's oldest home, since June, and will end October 15th. What is it exactly? More than 100 bird -- and bat -- houses designed by Chicago artists and renowned architects, including honorary Chicagoan Frank Gehry.
Wednesday September 8 2004 Arts/Architecture

Archinect Schoolblog Project
Archinect, a long standing site for smart architectural talk, news and features recently started a new endeavor: The Schoolblog Project. Culling architectural students from 38 universities around the world, they goal is to provide a look at student life for the Fall 2004 semester. Angana Shah, a 2nd Year student is our representative from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Follow her academic journey by reading along.
Wednesday September 8 2004 Arts/Architecture

Fancy a BLT?
While not of the bacon, lettuce and tomato kind, the BLT aka The Boulevard Lakefront Tour is brought to you by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. From the site: "Join us for the 16th Annual Boulevard Lakefront Tour! One of Chicago's favorite bike rides, the BLT explores our great city's 'emerald necklace' — the parks, boulevards and historic places on the South and West Sides." It goes down this Sunday, September 12th and registration is still open. Your choice of 10 mile or 35 mile ride. How many people did this last year? Over 2,200.
Tuesday September 7 2004 Outdoors/Environment

We're off to whatever, everland
Friend of GB, regular contributor to Rearview and stunning photographer Archie Florcruz launches his personal photo site, Whateverland. Designed by him, built by me and for you to look at. With photos like these here, here and here, it's time for less talk and more gawk.
Tuesday September 7 2004 Photography

Need a complete Voter Guide?
If so, take a look at this. Get educated, get registered and make a decision about who you want in office.
Thursday September 2 2004 Politics/Activism

That Ian, Suspended
This would have gone in the old Cool as F@#k category we used to have. A quick disclaimer: the following linked URLs lead to mature content and is not for the weak of heart. That said, it's pretty damn impressive. Some of you may know him as "That Ian" around here. Ian's posted a well-done and remarkable video of himself getting suspended. By the knees. With hooks. Like a gapers block, we want to look away but just can't. Fascinating. Oh, and Ian is quite OK; he wrote back to me, "I'm bulletproof." But he also says "...this should never be attempted."
Thursday September 2 2004 Found on the Web

Transfigured Transformers at Rotofugi
After their successful Monkey Show (and opening), Rotofugi are continuing to build up a solid inventory of designer toys (a Kinsey set anyone?). They've got a new show in the gallery starting today with an official opening this Friday by Chicago artist Jeffrey Lacson: "Titled Transfigured Transformers, the show will exhibit several of Lacson’s large format prints and constructions based upon Transformer toys." and "Think Transformers turned into religious icons and mandalas." Details here. Umm, I hope there's no The Passion of Optimus Prime in the works...
Tuesday August 31 2004 Arts/Architecture

The Making of a Home
First there was The Making of a Restaurant. Then for a while, Sandy joined us here at the Block. But now, he's back on his own, or rather with his partners-in-crime (a girl, two cats), tackling a new project, The Making of a Home. Incidentally, the site's design is refreshing and stellar. And of course, the content is good, you know, aside from that cat entry. We kid.
Monday August 30 2004 Found on the Web

Photo Friday
Friday tends to be a slower day — you're counting down till you get to leave, unless you're on summer hours that is. To pass the time, we've got some photos for you to look at, today's theme is graffiti/stencils. Rachelle of Chicagoist has a neat little section on her site called Street Writing. Craig shoots graf and stencils pretty often and here's a few from August. While the photo isn't in Chicago but the photographer is, Nick has a nice shot. One of our faves, Chris has a series of shots from a boxcar.
Friday August 27 2004 Photography

Another Blacklist
Swell online magazine Blacklist is back with their second issue. Lots of great stuff to look at and read, featuring an interview with one of my faves, Cody Hudson of Struggle, Inc. and another interview with our favorite designer toy store, Rotofugi. Head on over!
Wednesday August 25 2004 Found on the Web

The kids got nowhere to go... but they can bowl
This weekend an email informed me that there was "NO MORE FIRESIDE!!!" The all ages venue where many of my favourite bands have graced the stafe and where my own band has played a few times (plug!) is now closed to the songs that make the kids shake their fists to. Instead, there will be bowling. It's making a comeback to a venue that is a bowling alley and with the closing of many fine establishments around the city this year (Marzano's , Marigold) this could be a good thing indeed. And if that fails, well, the shows could always come back. Here's a word from Hammer...
Monday August 23 2004 Music/Clubs

The Party Line
We're just about to send out the first GB mailing list digest, "The Party Line." By the time you read this, it may be too late to get this week's inaugural issue but you can always sign up here. Brian's done a swell job in crafting good times in your inbox so go ahead, drop your e-mail in there will ya?

On a related note, we've added the ability for you to remove yourself from the list at any time, you know in case you ever get bored of The Party Line. But we think you won't.
Thursday August 19 2004 Gapers

An earlier get together
You may or may not have noticed that we're holding our monthly get together early this month — it's happening this Friday instead of next and we're at Hopleaf this month, a bar/restaurant of fine and epic proportions. It'll also be an hour later than the usual 8PM. The festivities start at 9PM, perfect for you to get some grub and then come get nice and drunk with us where we'll tell you all our secrets. Maybe.
Monday August 16 2004 Gapers

Fun in your inbox, Car Seat
It's finally here: The GB Mailing List is now up and running. Each week, Brian Sobolak (BS) will craft an email of scandalous, interesting and unique news and events, plus a preview of what's to come in Airbags. While we know what it's like to be inundated with email, we think this'll be a good one. It goes out Thursdays and rounds out the week that has been and will be. So go ahead, drop in that email address.

Also new this week is our Sunday column, Car Seat, written by returning GB alumna Alejandra Valera. Aimed at new parents, Car Seat will tell you the places to go and things to do with your newly expanded family.
Monday August 16 2004 Gapers

The Speak Up Poster Contest
The good folks at Speak Up are holding a poster contest. Not just any poster contest but one judged by design heavyweights Art Chantry, Ellen Lupton and James Victore. Veer is co-sponsoring the whole shebang and will be offering the four final winning posters for sale. Winners get all four printed posters (silkscreened), a $75 Amazon gift certificate and $75 to spend at Veer. Deadline is September 10 so get cracking!
Wednesday August 11 2004 Arts/Architecture

Annie meets Edwards, Obama
Miss Annie T, friend of GB, met with John Edwards and Barack "The Man" Obama recently. She wrote about it and posted photos. On a side note, Manny's Deli, which I'm sure makes all kinds of decent food, does not make a veggie burger — see Annie's photo of aforementioned "burger" in aforementioned post. Did we write aforementioned twice? Yes we did.
Wednesday August 11 2004 People/Sightings

At our table
Because we like food around these parts and reading about it, here's another weblog to add to your foodie read list: At Our Table. The author, Linda describes the site as "A food and lifestyle blog chronicling the culinary adventures of a Chicago-based young woman, her husband and their baby girl. Welcome to our table!" So there you go. [via Kiplog's FoodBlog]
Tuesday August 10 2004 Eating/Drinking

A round of thanks
Deeply appreciated thanks to Eamon Daly and Jason Fried for their recent donations (you can donate too!) and many thanks to all of those who've bought lots of buttons, a poster or two and sent for their free stickers! All in the shop, folks.
Tuesday August 10 2004 Gapers

Family Album
As we were visiting Millennium Park last night for the umpteenth time, a few friends and myself stumbled across a photo exhibition entitled "Family Album". Located at the northwest corner of the park, at the Wrigley Square and Millennium Monument (aka the pseudo-Roman pillars), the exhibit is open-air and is truly stunning. I'm rarely intrigued enough to really delve deep into an exhibit but I looked at all 103 photographs (selected from 1000) and read the accompanying text for each one. Family Album is Paris-based photographer Uwe Ommer's remarkable global journey capturing portraits of families from around the world (150 countries!).
Monday August 9 2004 Photography

Get your shop on
After, like, forever, the GB Shop is now open for business. We have buttons and posters for sale. We have stickers too and best of all those are free with a self addressed stamped envelope. We've also got t-shirts on the way and another nifty little thing which will be unnamed at this point, but suffice to say, it's pretty darn cool. So whatcha waiting for?
Wednesday August 4 2004 Gapers

Listen, no looking
Speaking of Hello Beautiful, host Edward Lifson writes in about a recent post on the Block with some audio links about Chicago photographer Patty Caroll's posters (listen here) and about Chicago Modern 1893-1945 (listen here).
Friday July 30 2004 Arts/Architecture

Lake.Sky.Vans
Friend of GB, photographer Melissa Weimer was recently featured on Chicago Public Radio's 848. The feature focuses on her current project, Lake.Sky.Vans described as "three sympathetic elements of the Chicago aesthetic.” It's a great little feature as Weimer and host Steve Edwards chat humorously whilst on Western Avenue as vans pass them by. Listen in directly here (Real player or Real Alternative required). But if you're into the real thing, radio that is, you can listen to a re-broadcast of her feature on Sunday's "Hello Beautiful" show at 10am.
Friday July 30 2004 Photography

Tall Buildings
MoMA has launched a new exhibition site called Tall Buildings. It's not quite what you'd expect — the Sears Tower and Hancock have no mention, and the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia is absent. Rather, the site explores buildings from across the world but more importantly, buildings that have yet to been built or were proposed but not built. From a set of criteria, weighing in at number one out of 25 buildings in the exhibition, is the Chicago building that wasn't, at 7 S. Dearborn (more info here) which would have been the world's tallest building.
Wednesday July 28 2004 Outdoors/Environment

2004 Election Guide
The NY Times has published an interactive graphic of their 2004 Election Guide (using Flash). It breaks down the country by state and by electoral votes primarily then further sections off states by things such as The Swing States, or The Nader Factor (scary). I am pleased to see that Illinois is one of a small number of states that are Strongly Democratic. The Election Guide will be online and updated all the way till election time. Excellent.
Wednesday July 28 2004 Politics/Activism

Green Line Station Additions?
Craig of Fueled By Coffee has posted a "Diagrammatic Suggestion for Green Line Station Addition". In layman's terms, a rather cool suggestion (and image) of additional stations that would make sense on the Green Line. That's putting it too simply but read his thoughts on why these stations would make sense on existing infrastructure.
Wednesday July 28 2004 Transportation

The Collective Unconsciousness Project
Speaking of sending your dreams out there, frequent visitor and once-and-future resident of Chicago, Simon King produced TCUP: The Collective Unconsciousness Project a while ago. It's got a click interface and is wonderful to explore. It's pretty simple: "1) Create a Dreamer account. 2) Log a dream. 3) Explore the collective." It's nifty to see how your dream relates to the dreams of others and who else shares similar dream thematics.
Monday July 26 2004 Found on the Web

Sushi-eating contest anyone?
My love for Japenese and sushi is unbridled. As I've stated many times before, I could eat Japanese for the rest of my life. Thus, a sushi-eating contest is right up my alley. The launch party for the Flying Fish Lounge at Ra Sushi kicks off with such a contest, in promotion of this weekly service industry event that features warm sake for $1, their signature Tootsie rolls for $3.75 (8 pieces) and more specials. Oh, and the top three winners for the sushi-eating contest take home $50-$100, though really all I care about is the free sushi.
Friday July 23 2004 Eating/Drinking

Help the Coudal
Our friends at Coudal need a little help: "We need a bit o’ help at the CP/Jewelboxing World Headquarters in Chicago for the balance of the summer and into the fall. Call it a paid internship. We need a smart, talented, motivated person to help us with administration and distribution for Jewelboxing and to do occasional work on other Coudal Partners stuff too. You’ll have to do a bit of lifting and packing, etc. for Jewelboxing. It would be a nice part-time gig (3 days a week or so) for someone in school, and it may or may not lead to other things. Writing skills would be a plus, so show them off by emailing Michele Seiler (go to the site for e-mail address) if you’re interested."
Friday July 23 2004 Found on the Web

DIY Trunk Show II: Electric Craftaloo
Back, bigger and better than last year, Cinnamon Cooper and Amy Carlton are doing the DIY Trunk Show for the second year. With a new site (by yours truly), they're making an open call to artisans, craftmakers, musicians, anyone with anything home and handmade to showcase, sell and present to the public. The show will again be at the Pulaski Park Auditorium, recently used for the WLUW Record Fair, and will have three large spaces, almost triple the size of last year's Trunk Show. Despite the grander venture, cost for a table still remain cheap and completely affordable. For more details, take a look at the site or if you're interested in joining, please step right up.
Thursday July 22 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

"Interactive" Showgirls
If by interactive, you mean throwing a fake wad of cash at a screen while people are stripping on a giant screen, then I'm there. Or you can 'dress up' as your favorite character and win prizes. The cult and campy favorite, Showgirls will be playing at one of the city's finest independent film venues, the Landmark Century for one night only, Tuesday July 27. The one-time screening is to celebrate the release of the DVD 'VIP Edition' (comes with such highlights as "Pin the Pasties on the Showgirl" game with pasties and blindfold, Showgirls party games and a lap-dance tutorial featuring the world-famous girls of Scores) and tickets are free — download them at www.mgm.com/showgirls.
Thursday July 22 2004 Film

Metropolis Coffee Co.
The site's not much, but the actual place is excellent. Metropolis Coffee Co. at Granville and Kenmore is the kind of independent father-and-son owned coffee house that a diverse neighbourhood like Edgewater deserves. Heck, any neighbourhood really, instead of a Starbucks. If you sign up for their mailing list, in person or send an e-mail to info@metropoliscoffee.com, you'll get e-mail reminders about what's going on that week. Usually, there's a live jazz night, a movie night and the good 'ol open mic/poetry slam. Recent films include Dogtown and Z-Boyz and Kurosawa's Dreams. Oh, they're also from Seattle, so they know good coffee.
Thursday July 22 2004 Eating/Drinking

Bored in the Armitage/Kedzie corridor?
Michael Hogan writes in: "...my neighbors have a really good jazz place called 3030, located in an old church on the border of L. Square and Humboldt Park. Every Thurs. and Fri., they usually have something that probably just wouldn't fit in at any other venue. It's not always jazz, hell, it's not always music, but for a anyone living in the attention-starved Armitage/Kedzie Corridor, it's definitely something to check out. Their web address is: www.elasticrevolution.com, they're located at 3030 W. Armitage." That's tomorrow and Friday folks.
Wednesday July 21 2004 Music/Clubs

The Skinny
One of our regular stops on the design bookmark list, Veer's The Skinny is a nice warm place. We'd like to thank them for the props. They're doing forward thinking stuff with the whole stock files thing, and a good example to show you would be Lightboxing where the inaugural match featured none other than The Big C, Jim Coudal in a heated battle with Don't Mess with Vit, Armin Vit of Speak Up, dubbed no less, "The Thrillois in Illinois."
Wednesday July 21 2004 Arts/Architecture

Street Art for the Soul
Chicago has some fine, fine graffiti adorning its walls and in spaces and places you can't reach. The Artistic Bombing Crew (ABC) is an old school crew with some nice stuff. HipHopCity has some Chicago graf. An oldie but goodie: Jes's gallery. Nice to see that DePaul is teaching the finer points of a tag (take a look at the student projects) and head on over to the Graffiti Shop for all your supplies. Not that I'm like condoning it or anything.
Tuesday July 20 2004 Arts/Architecture

It's alive! But I'm dead. Tired.
We've worked all through the night (the site just went live one minute ago at 7:12am) and are in need of some sleep, delirious does not look good on me. However, we hope you like the new digs and take the time to explore around the site. There are a few unfinished sections that will go live this week and some rough around the edges corners, but we're all about growing up in public. More announcements to come.
Monday July 19 2004 Gapers

A quieter, gentler GB on Sunday
A quick note: The site will be mildly unaccessible on Sunday evening sometime as the redesign is implemented, uploaded and brought live for your pleasure. There are quite a few goodies in store and we hope it's been worth the wait. Thanks to all for their comments, suggestions and feedback.
Friday July 16 2004 Gapers

Alternative bike routes
The lakefront path is popular for bikers in the summer and sometimes, a little too popular. If you'd care to avoid the bladers, the joggers, the walkers and the kids whose parents don't seem to hold on to when walking the path, always refer to the Chicago Bike Map for various routes around the city. Dan Hosek has a brief list of routes with descriptions going east-west and north-south. It gives you an idea of what a proposed bike route might be like.
Friday July 16 2004 Transportation

Silva looks better than gold
Your Wednesday morning eye candy — Chris Silva. Lots of work, a strong style and just real nice to look at. The street installations are killer and the murals vast and beautiful: the proposed California station mural (Douglas Blue Line) will be nice to see live and he's even done a cow.
Wednesday July 14 2004 Arts/Architecture

See Sedaris in Hawaii
Love David Sedaris? Love Hawaii or would like to go? Chicago Public Radio is combining the two together as the grand prize (125 in all) if you pledge by Aug 31. Support the airwaves!
Monday July 12 2004 Books/Authors

You Are / I Am Postcards
The good folks behind You Are Beautiful are at it again. The You Are / I Am Postcards are their latest project — "As the cards are filled out & collected, the line of distinction between 'You Are' and 'I Am' blurs." Get your own, and then send 'em back by 05.01.05 — they'll be displayed in the the same named books for public consumption next summer and eventually compiled and printed in a black and white book.
Monday July 12 2004 Arts/Architecture

Get with the FizzieFuzzie
Friend of GB, Jim Liu launches a brand new version (with brand new goods) of FizzieFuzzie. "fizziefuzzie is a collection of characters based on the real personalities of the people that we know or sort of know -- personalities that are a bit wacky and a bit off(beat). they are definitely not your typical whitebreaded character line." There's even some extras: a themesong and even a WAP site for you wap-enabled PDA and phone users. "GET WITH THE FIZZIE! AND ON WITH THE FUZZIE!"
Friday July 9 2004 Arts/Architecture

Home of the Hot Dog
If you just can't get enough of the encased meats, then you'll like Chicago: Home of the Hot Dog. There's reviews amongst other things but my favorite is the FAQ. A sample question — Can love of Hot Dogs prove fatal?. Find out, though I really want to ask Takeru Kobayashi. [ via GB alumni Paul McCann ]
Thursday July 8 2004 Eating/Drinking

Chicagoans go to Lebowskifest
The 3rd annual tribute to the Coen Brothers, Lebowskifest went down a little while ago in Louisville, KY. Chicago was representing with our own Brian Sobolak who took photos and Halo+Horns was there, too, also with photos. Can we get enough of The Dude? Apparently not.
Wednesday July 7 2004 Found on the Web

Artmuck
The folks at Artmuck.com are funny. Like in this article, "Patriot Missle". If you really need some encouragement to go read that, it's worth seeing the photo of a girl with a firecracker in her ahem, behind. However, if you're more into less juvenile endeavours, you might really like this interview with Davy Rothbart of Found Magazine.
Wednesday July 7 2004 Found on the Web

Daley's Green Crusade
Architecture, art and design magazine behemoth Metropolis has an excellent article titled, "Mayor Daley's Green Crusade". The article starts off with his bulldozing of Meigs Field and delves deeper into what Da Mare has in plan for our fair city — “My belief is that environmental initiatives should not just be out on the West Coast, in Alaska, or by the ocean, but in cities. If we don’t do this, the expansion will be overwhelming: more cars, more concrete, more pollution in the air and water. They won’t have any environment left out there, and no one will want to live here either.”
Wednesday July 7 2004 City Life/Cultural

Chicago Film: Summer School
It's never to late to get an education and the previously noted ChicagoFilm.com has summer school for budding and aspiring filmmakers. While the sessions have already started, there are quite a few workshops and courses left to go before summer's out: The Chicago Filmmakers Coop Series and indie film center Facets' own Film School. Also of note is the Michigan Ave Apple Store's FREE Digital Movies presentations during the week in the theater and their paid Studio Series.
Tuesday July 6 2004 Film

Clean, classy, Coudal.
Our friends Coudal Partners have launched a widescreen version of their site of Internet wonders. Looks great and hey, there's also a new Western State (#4) with Jason Gnewikow of ye olde midwestern emo-popsters The Promise Ring. Three cheers to the gang at CP. As we say around these parts, "Looking good, looking fresh, big pimpin'."
Tuesday June 29 2004 Arts/Architecture

12 Dumbest Comic Overs
Your Humorous Moment of the Day: The 12 Dumbest Covers of American Comics brought to you by "Chicago's Finest Comic Shop", Atlas.
Tuesday June 29 2004 Found on the Web

When it rains, it pours
It seems we're back after our hosts' service provider got hit with DOS attacks. In what seems like a multitude of issues, suffice to say, we will be moving to a new server/host soon. Thanks for your patience and support. There'll be some exciting stuff happening in the weeks to come so look out for that.
Tuesday June 22 2004 Gapers

Watch for road workers
If you haven't seen the signs when travelling on one of the city's fine expressways or highways, then you should know that if you hit and kill a road worker, you're likely to face 14 years in prison for reckless homicide. It has happened for the second time (a hit-and-run) in less than a week on the Dan Ryan. It's not just a coincidence either. Slow down around those construction areas.
Monday June 21 2004 City Life/Cultural

Not so homicidal
We're doing better it seems. Last year we had the dubious honor of being the nation's leading city of murder, but it seems we may be a little less prone to be harmful to our fellow citizens this year.
Monday June 21 2004 City Life/Cultural

betterPropaganda
Everyone likes free music. I just can't say no myself. And everyone likes listening to new artists. My penchant for new, new, new is unsatiable. Well, betterPropaganda is here to fill that void. Their model focuses on showcasing indie artists both known and a little less known and making mp3's available to download and it's all legal baby. Jointly co-produced in Chicago and San Francisco, they're here to make the world a better place with better music and betterPropaganda.
Thursday June 17 2004 Found on the Web

Best of the Best: Spaces
The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects released a survey completed by AIA Chicago members on what buildings and spaces are the best in the city. Some are predictable (Millennium Park) and some are relatively new (Sofitel). The Sun-Times has more. [via Gigantic]
Wednesday June 16 2004 Outdoors/Environment

Chicago on Wikipedia
One of the niftiest things on the internet is the Wikipedia. It's a free open source (meaning you can add to and edit information!) encyclopedia. Since it's open source, it's kept up-to-date in real time. Chicago's entry is a nice neat nutshell that gives one a good overview of the city. At a glance it tell you about the history, geography, novels sets in Chicago, companies based here and much, much more. The best part? If you feel it's missing something, just go ahead and add your information. Power, in the hands of the user. Related: What is a Wiki?
Tuesday June 15 2004 Resources

Chicago Draws Tomine
You may know the work of comic book artist and illustrator Adrien Tomine quite well. His tales of awkward and disaffected youth strike close to home. For those who don't, he's the creator of Optic Nerve, illustrates for The New Yorker, is featured in the current McSweeney's and if that doesn't ring any bells, you may have seen his regular strip in Pulse, the Tower Records magazine. Tomine will be appearing in his first Chicago event this Thursday the 17th at the Borders in Lakeview. He'll be talking about his latest, Scrapbook which collects all of his Tower Records strips as well as his illustration and design work and other ephemera. Not to be missed.
Monday June 14 2004 Arts/Architecture

The Blacklist
The Blacklist is a well done online magazine produced here in good old Chicago. Publisher and crative director Ray Noland writes in the publisher's notes, "Coming from Chicago, I see a lot of talented individuals around this town that struggle to keep their lights on. Most of them decide to move either east or west to broaden their horizons. Such a shame." Keeping the Chicago spirit alive, Blacklist.
Friday June 11 2004 Print/Magazines

Millenium Park Tour
Sal writes in with an update to his site, MilleniumPark.net. He recently went on one of two Millenium Park tours as part of the Annual Great Chicago Places and Spaces festival. He's got a ton of new photos and a great update.
Thursday June 10 2004 Arts/Architecture

Back, back, back.
Hallelujah! We're back in full effect y'all. Much rejoicing is being done around these parts as we're living la vida loca. It's been hellish with worry but now we're resting a little easy as we get columns, photos and new content to you as we speak. Thanks for checking in and we'd appreciate it if you spread the word. It's peanut butter jelly time!
Thursday June 10 2004 Gapers

Peek-a-boo!
We apologize to those that are trying to see the site but coming up with dead space. We're having technical difficulty — neither our host or us know what's going on. You can see the site, then you can't see the site. Apparently everything is kosher but we know the internet is playing a particularly twisted game of now you see it, now you don't. Your best best is to refresh.
Tuesday June 8 2004 Gapers

AIA National Convention and Design Expo
The American Institute for Architects is holding their National Convention and Design Exposition (NaCoDeEx for short, right?) this week from June 10-12. It's being held at McCormick Place and will feature a presentation by hot author Erik Larson (he of Devil in the White City fame). In their words, "Whether you’re an architect, designer, landscape architect, engineer, developer, builder, interior designer, educator or manufacturer, this convention brings together all members of the design and construction industry!" Woo-ha!
Monday June 7 2004 Arts/Architecture

Genovese Studios
Michael Genovese is the man behind Genovese Studios, which produces some amazing work blending graf styles with typography. The custom signage is very cool too, including the hand painted swimming pool logo for a swanky downtown apartment building -- but it's the collaborative section that really gets my blood pumping.
Thursday June 3 2004 Arts/Architecture

And now for that other sport
As a once obsessive badminton player in Kuala Lumpur, I've been interested to find out what one can do to remedy a long period of non-playing here in Chicago. It seems Illinois does have a few places to play and that the University of Chicago has a club and team (that has won college tournaments). However, I'd like to know more. Send tips and info to nh at gapersblock.com.
Wednesday June 2 2004 Sports/Recreation

Foundation's got it going on
Foundation Gallery, an art space, is gearing up for the summer. Their upcoming show is presented by Total Gym and is called Primal Secrets. Here's the dilly: "Total Gym is a social network that presents artwork produced within various multimedia projects which transform an immediate environment through visual, aural, and physical interaction. From June 11-18, Total Gym will occupy Foundation Gallery and implant, implant, implant, implant, implant. Projects include experiential drawings large and small, audio environments where beast and atmosphere collide, cheap manifestations of primal symbols and logic, along with elaborate masked and costumed visitors." You know, sort of like "Eyes Wide Shut." Maybe. They're also having an upcoming fashion show in July featuring local t-shirt makers Syndrome.
Tuesday June 1 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Chris Silva
Chris Silva has an impressive body of worked based in the urban graf style. Complex, dirty, intricate designs are worked into existing cityscapes to provide one with some kind of enlightenment or message from the day to day drudgery. Take a look at the murals, mosaics and public art works or go through the entire body of work (there is a lot - yay!). Perfect for a slow sunny Friday.
Friday May 28 2004 Arts/Architecture

Pop Vs. Soda
Ah, the old pop vs. soda debate. Wanna see how it breaks down across the nation? Here's how Illinois looks. [ via the Big C ]
Thursday May 27 2004 City Life/Cultural

Core77 Offsite
The design and resource magazine Core77 is having an event this evening called appropriately "Offsite". It features Mark Palmer and Russ Branaghan, both user interface and usabiltity professionals for Motorola and Big Red Rooster respectively. "Motorola and Big Red Rooster are working together to create a new product development process that more effectively harnesses the power of true collaboration-between designers, engineers, social science, and most importantly, users." There will be a cocktail reception post presentation. It will be at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 6-9pm. You'll have to RSVP.
Thursday May 27 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Fishing and Hunting
Past the 1993-stylin' splash page is a wealth of information about fishing and hunting in good ol' Chicago and Illinois at Chitown-Angler. There are topics about fishing in Lake Michigan, the rivers, the smaller lakes and the forests. There's information about where to get a licence and also an illuminating hunting quick reference guide. Groundhogs beware: there's no limit as to how many can be hunted.
Tuesday May 25 2004 Outdoors/Environment

No cheese here
Monday morning dreariness not quite your flavour? Take some time out to peruse photos from local photographers: Citying, Jamas, Chicago Snapshot, Esotericus, Ferocious Cheese, Gigantic, Boochakanan, No Commercial Potential, Photovox and Six Feet Above. Keep your eyes busy for a while if your brain isn't quite up to it today.
Monday May 24 2004 Photography

A look at Lincoln Park
Your GB Humorous Moment of the Day courtesy of Atomly: A critical view of Lincoln Park.
Friday May 21 2004 Weblogs

The Believer comes to town
While not necessarily a literary event, McSweeney's-produced Believer Magazine is holding a show here on Friday, June 4th, at the Empty Bottle featuring indie darlings The Mountain Goats and local favourite Archer Prewitt. $14 gets you in and a copy of the latest Believer -- a great deal. And you just never know, Dave Eggers being from Chicago himself, might just be "visiting" and milling in the crowd...
Thursday May 20 2004 Music/Clubs

Jazz Chicago
Jazz, that enigmatic and complex music genre, has a Chicago organization. The Jazz Institute of Chicago presents all things jazz here in the windy city, from legendary veterans to the new crop of sizzling players. The site has a vast wealth of information as well as member benefits if you join them, such as insider info, early show warnings, free tickets to shows and discounts at local jazz-flavored record stores. Watch for the free Jazz City Series and the Chicago Edge Concert Series in What's Happening.
Wednesday May 19 2004 Music/Clubs

This biking city
Chicago is one of the best cities in the world to bike. Warm weather is here and people are dustuing off their trusty steeds unless you're like me and you bike all year round. The Tribune has a neat little section about biking in this city spinning a few tales of what it's like and what you can do to bike more everyday including more info about the Millennium Park Bicycle Station.
Monday May 17 2004 Transportation

The Circus sets up shop
This past Saturday, at the last minute, I found myself catching a free performance of The World's Fair Regained, this year's theme for Le Vorris & Vox Circus. They are a circus group made up primarily of University of Chicago students and they've done this for the past three years now. Most have graduated and the word is that they're taking this on the road for the next three years. There are a few ways for your to get involved if you've always wanted to support the circus or be in one (how cool is this?) and if you're just plain curious, take a look at some photos (though this year's one was even bigger and better. For more about this past event, I wrote a little recap.
Monday May 17 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Neighborhood guide
Metromix has published a Neighborhood Guide. It's not bad at all and highlights some areas that are changing in recent years and becoming less the secret place you tell only your friends about including Beverly, Portage Park, Bridgeport and the rapidly changing Uptown.
Thursday May 13 2004 City Life/Cultural

Melissa Weimer Photography
Thursday morning is a little bit easier to start when there's some beautiful photos to look through. And Melissa Weimer brings the goods. Her gorgeous cityscapes have recently been published in local magazine, Ten by Ten but every single photo is well fawning over.
Thursday May 13 2004 Photography

Summer Geocaching
In a post I wrote last year, I mentioned Geocaching. The ChiTown Cachers is a local group of cachers who organize events and get togethers to share stories of geocaching and to gush over their GPS units (I'm presuming). Most importantly, there's a huge list of caches all over the Chicagoland area. For even more info, join the Yahoo Group. Damn, do I want a GPS unit now. Another item added to the summer To Do list.
Tuesday May 11 2004 Outdoors/Environment

Johnny Payphone, bikes and...Ghana?
You may have read a story a few weeks ago in the Reader about Johnny Payphone, a bike advocate and Rat Bike rider. He's currently in Ghana helping the local government get their people mobile by making cargo loading bikes as part of the wonderful outfit that is Working Bikes, a local organization and excellent source for used bikes here in Chicago. You can follow his exploits via his weblog or you can help the cause at Working Bikes. As for more Ghana, you can read about a firsthand experience right here (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4) courtesy of our very own Jes Davis.
Monday May 10 2004 People/Sightings

Semi-downtime
Hi folks, sorry for the semi-downtime. Our hosting provider ran into a bit of a security snafu and the database was wonky. Things are back to normal.
Thursday May 6 2004 Gapers

The Stray Show 04
The Stray Show happens this weekend. Now in its third year, it brings a diverse and vast collection of galleries, artists and other creatives together to foster progression of the arts. Quite an impressive group of Chicago's finest representing. Be sure to check it out. Opening night celebrations happen this evening with the Stray Show proper Friday through Sunday.
Thursday May 6 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Northsiders vs. Southsiders
We aim to make you laugh every morning (at least we try to) and thus here comes the official GB Humorous Moment of the Day yet again. Northsiders vs. Southsiders, a funny "look" at the difference between watching the Cubs and watching the Sox. Note: flash movie.
Wednesday May 5 2004 Sports/Recreation

Travis Lampe
More great illustration work is getting out there. Travis Lampe's illustrations are full of life, clever meaning and imagination. I'm sure the editorial work is pouring in. Perfect for a Tuesday morning. [ via The Big C ]
Tuesday May 4 2004 Arts/Architecture

Eat Bacon
The GB official Humorous Moment of the Day comes courtesy of photographer and Rearview contributor, Archie Florcruz. Hand dryers in bathrooms now dispense bacon. Yum!
Monday May 3 2004 Found on the Web

Get your Matchbox cars out
Parking Spots is a silly site, one of those "waste your time while being bored to death at work" sites. Highly entertaining. It's international and you too can submit one, and there's quite a few from Illinois (scroll down to the US section). You'll have to see what I mean.
Thursday April 29 2004 Found on the Web

Library Lookup
As commented in our Ask the Librarian column, our friend in yours, Ian Olsen-Clark has improved and created a bookmarklet (?) that will allow one to access the Chicago Public Library's system. It's amazingly nifty. Here's an endorsement and further explanation of what you can do with it.
Wednesday April 28 2004 Books/Authors

The Walking Dude
Many of you may know The Walking Dude. I actually call him "70's Italian Loverman". Someone has made a really well-done and humorous short clip of The Walking Dude, A Dudementary. Does anyone personally know The Walking Dude?
Wednesday April 28 2004 People/Sightings

Ice Cream, Ice Cream!
Yikes! We missed Ben and Jerry's Free Ice Cream day yesterday but do not fret! There is still free ice cream to be had. Baskin-Robbins has its Free Scoop Night tonight from 6pm-10pm. You can be like me last year: my friend and I hit three Baskin-Robbins in a row on the way someplace! It was perfect. Of course, we went back to one of them two hours later...
Wednesday April 28 2004 Eating/Drinking

The Final Prime Shorts
Local film curator Xan Aranda brings the successful Prime Shorts film show to an end tomorrow evening at The Hideout. In her words: "Producing and curating this show has been the greatest! But we can't go steady anymore, Prime Shorts and me... It was a hot sweaty love affair that now needs to give way to other shiny objects and tempting projects." And: "With the promise of there being no uber-depressing dog-murder claymation, I hope you can make it to the swan song, the final sprint, the last (scheduled) Prime Shorts." If you've missed engagements at The Hideout and the Gene Siskel Film Center, then this is your last chance.
Tuesday April 27 2004 Film

Wall to Wall Recording
A while ago, I visited a renewed studio that some friends are working at. The place is called Wall to Wall and it's located deep in the bowels of a building downtown. It's a veritable maze of sorts, lined with deep crimson plush walls with recordings rooms and a main room that has history. Almost on this side of a pimp's love den from the 70's, you feel as if either Jimi Hendrix or The Beatles might have cut some tracks here back in the day. The pimp factor is quite high. While the photos on the site are cool, it's amazing in person. If you're interested in tracking and recording some music, this is the place to be. They're quite affordable too.
Tuesday April 27 2004 Music/Clubs

Eat Chicago
You just can't get enough of foodie sites and EatChicago is looking mighty tasty. While relatively new, the site has brief reviews and some interesting categories. Another essential Chicago based foodie site: Vital Information.
Monday April 26 2004 Eating/Drinking

Stuphoto
Some Monday morning eye candy for you — Stuart Paul Mullenberg has a neat little photography portfolio site with some excellent portraits. The site is quick, simple and lets the photos do all the talking. My favorite shot is the photo in the bottom left corner (not directly linked to since the site is in Flash) — quite Chicago.
Monday April 26 2004 Photography

Braid is back
Emo-popsters Braid were mighty popular with the kids a few years back, playing shows everywhere. They were most beloved here in Illinois. While other members went on to start other projects successfully, fans and rumors abound wished for a Braid reunion. It is here. They've rebanded, started to compile and list dates starting with two shows in Champaign (their hometown!) and one in Chicago then going east. If you've been waiting for this, best get your tickets now — they're not doing this again. Keep up to date with the members on their long running weblog, Are You Wearing a Wire? or their new tour specific one.
Monday April 19 2004 Music/Clubs

Version 04
Version is back for round 4 of their creative melange of workshops, presentations and festival cheer. This time it's going for two weeks straight starting April 16th to May 1st. This is quite an ambitious endeavour and the program is almost too daunting to look through. Take a look through the various passes and prices to get an idea of what your best value is. I'm sure there's quite a few gems in there.
Thursday April 15 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Google Local
For those of you who love Google, there is now Google Local. It's in beta but already seems useful. This quick search on sushi (I luuuurve sushi) displays great results and quite a refined interface. I know I'll be using this to find restaurants and local places.
Thursday April 15 2004 Found on the Web

This Is An Outlet
A new project from the artists behind You Are Beautiful. This Is An Outlet is a work that features 41 artists such as local artist Cody Hudson and non-local artist Shepard Fairey of Obey. It spans 12 countries. Check it.
Friday April 9 2004 Arts/Architecture

Jeff Tweedy's gonna kick it
In more Wilco news, Jeff Tweedy has checked himself into rehab, cancelling a European tour and postponing A Ghost Is Born by two weeks. Tweedy is battling an addiction to his migraine painkillers. The brief tour starting this month which ends with Coachella may also be cancelled. Get better Jeff. [Hat tip to Dan]
Tuesday April 6 2004 Music/Clubs

seriouSeries #3
Infamous design site and Chicago brethren SpeakUp makes a return with seriouSeries, their show-and-tell panel style intimate exchange of ideas and grand discussion on April 29th. No. 3 explores Chicago and it's web fiends, namely Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners, Jason Fried of 37 Signals, Jake Nickell, Jacon DeHart and Jeffrey Kalmikoff of SkinnyCorp/Threadless and yours truly of well, this here website and other things. Space is limited but free, details and RSVP here.
Monday April 5 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Chicago To Go
The Chicago Historical Society has an excellent online store called Chicago To Go with some great vintage goods. The posters are nice, like this World's Fair one but it's the vintage black and white matte photo prints that take my heart. You might after all want to have Al Capone's mugshot above your fireplace.
Monday March 29 2004 Business/Shopping

Make your own FOUND cover
If you haven't already picked up a copy of FOUND Magazine, you really should. If you are familiar with it and love it to death like we do, then perhaps you can help. FOUND is having a Make-A-Unique-Cover party this Sunday at Open End Gallery from 11am - 6pm. All the found items that did not make it into issue #3 will make it on to personalized covers that will be sent out to subscribers worldwide. That means that someone will have your very own handiwork in their hands. All necessary craft-making materials and found items will be provided. Nifty eh?
Thursday March 18 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Kerry's in town
Presidential hopeful John Kerry is in town. He's hosting an Election Night Party tonight at Union Station in the Grand Hall on 210 South Canal Street in Chicago, IL. He'll be here for the next few days. [ Thanks Dan. ]
Tuesday March 9 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Pastry anyone?
Some of you have entertained the thought of attending culinary school. Perhaps as a patissier? If you'd rather live vicariously, then take a peek and read what it's like at Pastry School, written by Meg, who's currently attending here in Chicago.
Tuesday March 9 2004 Weblogs

The Doors to close?
The Double Door that is. This article in the Sun-Times points out a dispute between the owners of the building and the operator of the Double Door. A $9000 dispute -- the difference in their current rent ($3K) and their proposed rent ($12K). [ Hats tipped to Jennifer. ]
Monday March 8 2004 Music/Clubs

Mile by Mile
Holy crap! Mile by Mile has to be seen, right now! "This is the web version of a set of photographs that map chicago's famous and rarely-comprimising grid into 212 4"x6" snapshots." Right here, right now. [ via the Coudal Family ]
Thursday March 4 2004 Photography

Essential Reading
WBEZ 848's List of Essential Reading about Chicago. Time to settle in.
Thursday March 4 2004 Books/Authors

Small and Beautiful
Local artists are hard at work. There's lovely new redesigns and fresh updates over at Small and Round and You Are Beautiful.
Wednesday March 3 2004 Arts/Architecture

Quimby's Anew
Well lookee here! Quimby's has a brand new website and an online store so you no longer have to be embarassed to walk out with your 3-foot pile of comics, your mini-shrine to McSweeney's or that pile of fetish and erotica books. A new notable section is Live at Quimby's, a selection of audio recordings of speakers and readers such as Al Burian, Chip Kidd and Amy Fusselman. The downside is that you have to use crappy Real Player (I'm not even going to link that!).
Tuesday March 2 2004 Books/Authors

It's right outside your window
Not If But When, the photography of Chicago photographer Brian Ulrich. People and places that look so familiar that it might even be you. Nice eye candy on a dreary Monday morning.
Monday March 1 2004 Photography

Raeses Release Party
Raeses Skateboarding Magazine is having one hell of a party this Saturday for the release of the second issue. Part art show, dance party and chill out, it proves to be quite an event. Featured artists include the infamous Shepard Fairey (OBEY GIANT), Illinois' own Chuck Anderson (No Pattern) and many many cult artists active in the skate and graf scenes. $5 at the door, 7pm, all ages at Transmission Gallery.
Friday February 27 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Chicago's "Block 37"
Straight from the mouth of Joe Dawson, "It appears that the development of Block 37... err I mean '108 N. State,' may finally be underway. Plans call for a variety of small retail shops, a new CBS 2 "showcase television studio" and a new CTA station with express trains to whisk travelers to and from O'Hare and Midway airports. Chicago-L.org has a great article (Feb 21) outlining the possibilities." Thanks Joe.
Wednesday February 25 2004 In the News

New musical venues
The folks over at the Empty Bottle are moving some of the live music overflow into some new spots in the city. The Logan Square Auditorium is quickly becoming a new venue for some great touring bands and the ever busy Open End is also opening up their space for some shows as well. Take a look at what's coming up and where. [ Hat tip to Simon ]
Wednesday February 25 2004 Music/Clubs

Bookslut: Craig Thompson
If you haven't heard of Craig Thompson or Blankets, his acclaimed graphic novel, then you should read the interview with him over at Bookslut.
Tuesday February 24 2004 Books/Authors

"Fashion's new base"
Would you like to learn more about fashion in Chicago? Or where do fashion designers get together? Where are they? The Chicago Fashion Foundation answers.
Monday February 23 2004 Arts/Architecture

BC.com
Speaking of Billy Corgan, you might want to take a look at his new site. He's maintaining a sort of weblog/journal (though it's in Flash) and writing about his new kittens and seeing Urge Overkill. Oh it's definitely a blog then.
Thursday February 19 2004 People/Sightings

4 - 1 walls
"ThreeWalls is a nonprofit organization dedicated to contemporary art and art education. Our mission is to provide workspace for emerging artists who are at pivotal points in their careers, and to offer the public new approaches to contemporary art-practices through unconventional exhibitions and educational programming." They've been busy.
Wednesday February 18 2004 Arts/Architecture

Deprive yourself
After watching the horrible Daredevil a while ago, I was reminded of sensory deprivation tanks, otherwise known as floatation tanks. An article written by Brian Lewis in the Chicago teen publication New Expressions sheds a bit of light on what it's like. SpaceTime Tanks, the facility Lewis visited, is one of the better and well-known in Chicago.
Tuesday February 17 2004 In the News

Grub Hub
An interesting resource, GrubHub.com provides a map, neighbourhoods and most importantly the listings of resturants that deliver in your area. While the site is a little non user-friendly (why can't I click on the cuisines?) and it takes three clicks to get to a listing of restaurants (hint: click on a street on the map), it's actually useful.
Monday February 16 2004 Eating/Drinking

Help computer!
If you haven't already seen the GI Joe PSA's by Eric Fensler, run, dash, or sprint over there and check them out. There are new ones! And doesn't he look charming in his Cubs uniform? "Give him the stick, don't give him the stick!"
Tuesday February 10 2004 Found on the Web

Wax work
Bizarre, creepy but always fascinating, the 3-d figure works of Chicago artist Josef Seiganthaler is truly the showcase of a vivid imagination. The Figures section is highly recommended.
Friday February 6 2004 Arts/Architecture

Spaces, Chicago
You know, I've always wished there was a site which listed some of the more independent art gallery spaces in Chicago. Well, whaddaya know? There is. Spaces.org is a barebones site with upcoming openings and links and profiles to art spaces in the city concentrated to the burgeoning Pilsen artists area. There is also a link to ChicagoArt.org, a searchable art database. Nifty!
Thursday February 5 2004 Arts/Architecture

Again, thanks!
A big cheer, three hips, three hoorays to donor Pete Anderson. We're much obliged.
Thursday February 5 2004 Gapers

Rintaro in Chicago
Famed Japanese anime director Rintaro/Taro Rin (you know him from such anime as Metropolis) will present a free lecture at the Japanese Information Center from 6 - 8pm today with a reception after. A must for fans of anime. More info.
Wednesday February 4 2004 Film

Thank you again!
A big hug, a happy dance and a "Boo-Ya!" to donor and supporter The Infinite Stitch. Thanks.
Thursday January 29 2004 Gapers

One Hundred or So Ways...
...To Get an Ulcer is a relatively new weblog described as "A glimpse into the mind of an Chicago inner-city high school teacher". It's captivating reading.
Thursday January 29 2004 Weblogs

Chicago in Film
Spurred by a question in our most recent Fuel discussion, a quick search revealed a list of movies filmed in Chicago. There is more where that came from featuring movies with Chicagoans and movies that are intrinsically about Chicago. The All Movie Guide also offers a list of everyone involved in film who was born in Chicago (strangely, Winnetka native Chris O'Donnell is on the list, but the Evanstonian Cusaks and Wilmette-ian Bill Murray are not).
Wednesday January 28 2004 Film

Overeager fan ruins show
The Onion reports on a recent show at the Empty Bottle. [ Hats tipped to Fancy That ]
Wednesday January 28 2004 Music/Clubs

Selling out with style
Phineas X. Jones, inimtable maker of photocollages is selling out in true style. Buy one of his classic photocollages. If you need to seem them in person, they're up for this month over at Uncommon Ground on Grace.
Wednesday January 21 2004 Photography

Oh, Mr. Black, tsk tsk.
As mentioned earlier, more on the developments with ol' Conrad. Salon has a little story about his removal and lawsuit concerning his making off with oh around $200 million. Oh Conrad, the kettle sure is black.
Monday January 19 2004 People/Sightings

Sniff, swish, spit
Like wine? I know you do. Thus, a list of wine events, tastings and dinners in our fair city for the year. May be updated as time goes on. Quite a list it is too.
Monday January 19 2004 Eating/Drinking

Vegan Victuals Redux
If you thought vegan/vegetarian food wasn't tasty, think again. Mr. PJ Chmiel has relaunched his Vegan Food section of mostly places in Chicago and now with 60% more content. Thorough, comprehensive and sure to make you super hungry this early in the day.
Friday January 16 2004 Eating/Drinking

[un]scene
[un]scene is a...heck, why don't I just post what they wrote? "[UN]SCENE² is a functional urban guide that celebrates the less mainstream, more innovative establishments in your urban area. Working directly with this dynamic website and music CD's, it enables people to navigate through the city's streets, seeking out the most interesting commercial and cultural hot spots. One in a series of urban guides, [UN]SCENE² promotes those who continue to push all that is unique in contemporary American culture." Not bad and useful, but could be better designed.
Tuesday January 13 2004 Resources

Scam artist
Craigslist Chicago's Missed Connections has quite a few interesting posts concerning a female scam artist who seems to operate on the Red Line from Rogers Park down to Lincoln Park. Read the Mugged Lady @ Thorndale SCAM! posts. Be careful not to get suckered.
Tuesday January 6 2004 In the News

Photocollages - In the flesh
Phineas X. Jones presents his wonderfully amazing and beautiful Photocollages at Uncommon Ground all through January. Meet him and other photography collage afficionados in the flesh at the official opening this Wednesday, January the 7th where there will be... Wine! Cheese! and lots of brou-ha-ha and general hipster elitist behavior. We're kidding about that last one but bring your Hipster Bingo Card! There's bound to be a digital camera somewhere. From 5-8pm at Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville at 1214 W. Grace (Grace and Clark).
Tuesday January 6 2004 Photography

We thank you!
Just a quick note of thanks to everyone who's been reading, supporting and spreading the word about Gapers' Block. A big thank you from us! There are a few things we're planning in 2004, including another big party in February sometime. Details to be posted. A few changes to the site will be underway next month. Until then, be safe and enjoy tonight. Ride the el for a penny and be prepared for the fare increase tomorrow. And look out for the special Detour feature this Friday!
Wednesday December 31 2003 Gapers

Yojimbo's - a legend
Yojimbo's Garage, a legend within Chicago's bicycling community is facing some trouble. Competition is tough for Marcus Moore, owner, mechanic, ex-messenger with a Buddha-like exterior and calm man of the two wheel technique. His super dense shop located at 1310 N. Clybourn close to Cabrini Green is facing possible closure if sales aren't up. He's been the perfect example of how an independent venture should operate, but that may not be for long. This BikeForums thread posts all the details. A photo of Yojimbo's can be seen here (he has no site).

Yojimbo's details: 1310 N. Clybourn (& Division almost)
ph: 312 587 0878
fx: 312 587 0177
mon-fri: 8-6
sat-sun: 12-4
& by appointment

Knock when you get there, the door is locked otherwise, partly because of the high end stuff, partly because of the slightly sketchy surroundings. It also feels all cloak and dagger and once inside, you'll understand why.
Tuesday December 30 2003 Business/Shopping

2003 Hall of 15-minute famers
The Sun-Times has an article listing 2003's people with their 15-minutes of fame this year. The usual suspects are on board.
Monday December 29 2003 People/Sightings

Bar Specials
So you like a deal on your drinks. And you want to know where the specials are at on a particular night at bars in Chicago. Well, the good ol' interweb is good for these things. Ask, and people will build: ChicagoSpecials.com helps you to drink more for less.
Friday December 19 2003 Eating/Drinking

Dossier
There's a copy of Dossier on my coffee table at the moment. It's one of the new fashion and editorial hip magazines that keep getting published these days. It's based here though, and it isn't half-bad. The first issue is free at various places around the city, though if the $3.50 price tag by the barcode is any indication, it won't be soon.
Monday December 15 2003 Print/Magazines

Yelodog
No idea why this excellent site featuring photgraphs of Chicago's great architecture is called YeloDog, but that's the quirky nature of the web for you. YeloDog also has an excellent page of black and white concert photography from the '70s to the present, with notable highlights including Frank Zappa, Sun Ra, Public Image Ltd., Gang of Four and more.
Friday December 12 2003 Photography

Festive drinking
For some, this season's holidays brings together family and friends, love and cheer, and good times for all. And for others, it's a great time to get your drink on. In the spirit of this (pun intended), Metromix has published a guide to limited edition holiday beers for your enjoyment.
Tuesday December 9 2003 Eating/Drinking

Recognizing a Blocker
Folks if you're coming out tonight for the little shindig, we'd love for you to be able to recognize us and therefore some of us will be wearing some stickers with the four stars and GB on them. Be sure to say hello! We'd love to chat, drink, take lots of photos with our little digital cameras and be merry.
Friday December 5 2003 Gapers

Add your own
Add Your Own is a new community site where the success depends on you, the user. It's nifty with just the essentials, reminiscent of Craigslist in it's utilitarian style. The Chicago listings are looking a little slim. I love that there's a Restrooms section as well as a Coffee Shops section too. Go now! Fill 'er up!
Monday December 1 2003 Resources

Happy Turkey Day
Folks, hope you're having a good Turkey Day. Content in Merge will be a bit sparse over the next few days as everyone should be with family and friends. However, there is a new Ask the Librarian today, Airbags continues as usual, there will be a new Detour and some of the GB staff will still be posting for your enjoyment. Cheers!
Thursday November 27 2003 Gapers

10 things for this weekend
Crain's Chicago Business posts their list of 10 things to do this weekend. Not quite so "underground" or "hip" but for a change of pace, interesting.
Friday November 21 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Exploring Chicago, differently
In our latest Fuel, Tony points us out to Letterboxing, a site that guides those who wish to explore Illinois off the beaten path in search of hidden letterboxes. On a similar note, if you have a handheld GPS unit, you may want to do the same thing in search for hidden caches of goodies in an activity called Geocaching. People are hiding caches all the time.
Friday November 21 2003 Outdoors/Environment

P45: Clothes, Not a Gun
For the ladies, P45 is a homegrown designer label with a store in Wicker Park. Featured in Wallpaper, Lucky and In Style, P45 is definitely a boutique and they have some interesting fashions, clean cuts and offer something different than your Gap-dominated clothing. Though not quite affordable (comparable to some of the big names), it's nice to see Chicago represent. I am intrigued by this particular get-up. A few bondage-inspired pieces never hurt anyone.
Friday November 21 2003 Business/Shopping

Unturkey day
For those about to diss meat, I salute you! If the idea of a rather large steroid-pumped bird that's too heavy for one person to carry scares you or you're vegan/vegetarian, then perhaps these feasts may interest you: The Chicago Vegetarian Society is having its 15th annual vegan Thanksgiving dinner at the Hilton Chicago on S. Michigan. Old favourite The Chicago Diner has its annual Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Dinner as well, which is pretty damn tasty. Their menu for ths year is available for viewing (note: PDF file).
Thursday November 20 2003 Eating/Drinking

Reader facelift
The homepage (and only the homepage) of the Chicago Reader gets a bit of a facelift. The "face" no longer jives very well with the rest of it's "body" though I can see an attempt to conserve real estate and add ads down the side which really in the end just takes away from the esoteric charm of the site and it's 1993 old school web design. A peek under the hood also reveals font face tags and non stylesheet use. Ugh.
Wednesday November 19 2003 Found on the Web

Sun-times changes
If you haven't noticed yet, the Chicago Sun-Times has a new masthead for it's print version. The website has also been redesigned a little to reflect these changes. It looks...okay. Not a bad move, but I'm not particularly excited about the type. But then again, I'm a type snob. Thoughts?
Monday November 17 2003 Print/Magazines

I see...France! and stuff
Since ye olde grand consumerism fever is about to hit us soon in time for the holidays, I thought I'd drop in with some neat little designed items of clothing and "stuffs" from folks in Chicago. First up is I See France, a cute underthings concern for the lady in your life, from the same folks et al that brought you Threadless, which is a T-shirt concern where you should buy those cool t-shirts the kids are all wearing nowadays. And of course, do not forget to come with wallets loaded for the DIY Trunk Show this weekend.
Wednesday November 12 2003 Business/Shopping

Jewelboxing by Coudal
No, it's not the latest online Flash game where you get to beat up popstar diva Jewel, but the latest endeavor by the folks at Coudal. Entitled Jewelboxing, it's a different way to present your next DVD/CD project. While I'm not a huge fan of jewel cases or media packaging (dig the artwork/liner notes, hate the mass/volume), this is pretty neat for those who need to present stuff in a cool way.
Wednesday November 5 2003 Business/Shopping

Revolutions
I'm sure none of you have forgotten that the last installment of the Matrix trilogy opens tomorrow. I noted in the trailer during a brief oncoming train shot that its destination read "Loop" and the sign was sort of brown. It was in the subway though; I suppose in the Matrix, the Brown Line runs underground...
Tuesday November 4 2003 Film

Noise Chicago
Another show resource, this time from the folks at No-Nothing Rock, which features some of ther goodies. Noise Chicago is a database of shows in the city, moreso of the independent variety. The site has a list of all shows happening on the day you visit, with a recommended list on the side.
Monday November 3 2003 Resources

Alex Ross: Superparty
Noted and famous comic book artist Alex Ross (from here no less) had without a doubt the coolest Halloween party this year. (Well, maybe not, but certainly if you love comics). Now who knows where he lives?
Sunday November 2 2003 People/Sightings

Sun-times Photo Galleries
The Sun-Times has a small section of Photo Galleries of Chicago, featuring both things close to home and other more artsy selections.
Friday October 31 2003 Photography

Keep Yer Hands in Da Stands!
...will be chanted throughout Wrigley in 2004. Apparently, these special jackets will be given out to the first 10 rows next season. Gapers' Block — for all your sporting news.
Tuesday October 28 2003 Sports/Recreation

Cabbies: not all bad
Despite my annoyance with most cab drivers in this city, there are a few "gems" -- the Tribune has a nice little human interest story today [login:gapers/gapers].
Thursday October 23 2003 People/Sightings

Elliott Smith RIP
Sadly, they've been dropping like flies lately. While not from Chicago, Elliott Smith is a beloved indie music icon to many a music appreciator in this city, and we're sad to say there won't be anymore music coming from his way.
Wednesday October 22 2003 Music/Clubs

GhostCo
The illustrations and artwork of 20-year old Matthew Woodson, a SAIC student simply floor me. Reminiscent of much loved here in Chicago and honoured at the AI, artist Raymond Pettibon (you may know him for his covers for seminal punk band Black Flag), you should go through his archive or look at this, this or that.
Wednesday October 22 2003 Arts/Architecture

What are you going as?
The Sun-Times has an article about what's popular this year for Halloween costumes. I mean come on, Saddam? Soooo last year. Surprisingly, it doesn't mention the one costume that all my friends seem to want to go as this year. All you need is a pair of glasses, a green turtleneck and a Cubs baseball cap. Oh you know who!
Tuesday October 21 2003 City Life/Cultural

Ooh signage!
Oh you gotta love signs. Chicago signs no less. Presented by Loyola and gleaned from Typographica.
Monday October 20 2003 Arts/Architecture

Chicago Bike Map
You can't go wrong without one. You can't leave home without one... (if you bike that is).
Friday October 17 2003 Sports/Recreation

Chicago Graffiti
Our very own Jes Davis, has a stellar photo section of graffiti from around the world that's worth exploring in-depth, including 11 pages of Chicago's stylings.
Tuesday October 14 2003 Photography

Billy Corgan lost his keys
Comedian Stephen Lynch does a similar thing to Weird Al/Adam Sandler on SNL by using songs and a guitar for his comedic routine. And in the funniest thing I've heard all morning, Lynch sings the tale of "What If That Guy From Smashing Pumpkins Lost His Car Keys?". [Hat tip to ex-Chicago brethren Jason]
Monday October 13 2003 Music/Clubs

Blogs: flush with talent?
The Chicago Tribune has an article concerning possible talent being picked for "real" jobs from weblogs as was the case with former Gawker editor, Elizabeth Spiers. [Trib login: gapers/gapers].
Thursday October 9 2003 Print/Magazines

Mr. President, welcome to the Dollhouse
THE ONLY THING YOU SHOULD SEE TODAY.
Monday October 6 2003 Weblogs

Thank you, again
Thanks to 37 Signals for their donation and support. Remember, you too can help Support the Block.
Thursday October 2 2003 Gapers

Ferris Bueller's Time Off
A Mr. JL Moss wrote a humorous essay concerning why quintessential teen film Ferris Bueller's Day Off has serious timeline problems. The film shot in Chicago by Brat Pack director John Hughes (stop all the Home Alone's and Beethoven's for the love of all that is good!) is of course a classic Chicago institution. I wonder if someone could live the movie for a day... [via Kottke]
Wednesday October 1 2003 Film

The Texas Ballroom
I found myself at this amazing art/music/living space on the southside yesterday called the Texas Ballroom. I caught some amazing music there last night — it blew me away — and if you're at all interested in something fresh, grab-you-by-the-throat and with the underground flavour, you should keep an eye out for events there.
Monday September 29 2003 Music/Clubs

Critical Mass Sept.
It's the last Friday of September which means it's also time for the monthly Critical Mass bike ride. Hundreds of bikers will undoubtedly meet this evening at 5:30pm in front of Daley Plaza for one last ride before it starts getting too cold and only the more hardcore biker types start to show. If you've been wanting to check it out but haven't been able to, today's mild (bordering on cold) weather is perfect.
Friday September 26 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Craigslist anew
The Chicago Craigslist is sort of revamped. Looking more like it's older and bigger siblings in SF and NY, the site also sports a new Events Calendar which is already being abused for all sorts of events spam. Speaking of Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, he now has a weblog.
Thursday September 25 2003 Found on the Web

50 Most Common (?) Used CD's
Pitchfork has a new feature up, the 50 Most Common Used CD's. I'll count this as indigenous to Chicago, as I"ve scoured bargain bins elsewhere with different results. While it brings back memories of many hours spent at the old Dr. Wax with about half of these discs, the other half I hope are true, as I need to go and find some of the better ones on the list.
Thursday September 25 2003 Music/Clubs

No East Submission
No East Web Magazine is looking for submissions. The site will no longer adopt a "magazine" stance with quarterly issues but is being revamped for a weekly freeform 425x600px format.
Wednesday September 24 2003 Found on the Web

Rhinocerous Theater Festival
...started September 18th and runs for a bloody long time until October 26th. Which is not a bad thing. Held at various indie type venues across the city, there's quite a bit to see.
Monday September 22 2003 Theatre/Dance

Chicago Chefs
Curious about who Chicago's great chefs are aside from Mr. Trotter or Mr. Bayless, some poking around revealed this list of Guide to Chefs of Chicago and the ACF Chicago Chefs of Cuisine, a chef's guild of sorts.
Monday September 22 2003 Eating/Drinking

Arr matey!
Andlest you forget you filthy swab o' swine, best ye be speakin' like a pirate today. Avast yer scurvy landlubbers! Pour me some rum!
Friday September 19 2003

Chicago Music Scene dot com
Chicago Music Scene has a comprehensive music listing and calendar. Their Clubs section is large and vast and their site covers all kinds of music. Not the prettiest site but makes for fast loading.
Thursday September 18 2003 Music/Clubs

Bike 2010 Plan
Chicago is undoubtedly one of the best US cities to bike in. Mayor Daley's efforts with the coordination and handling of such an environment by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has been solid and they are now working towards the Bike 2010 Plan. You can read the overview, attend one of the meetings, share your thoughts or read about some of the comments people have written. If you use your bike regularly or even occasionally, this is important and we're fortunate enough to have good people working for this. So make your voice heard.
Monday September 15 2003 Transportation

Lucky Lucky
LuckyMountain is the work of one Kelly Marie Breslin. Browse through the extensive catalogue of work, which consists of amazing artwork, installations, screenprints and the coolest pillows ever. And then go buy her stuff, available at Penelope's in Wicker Park and Untitled in Lincoln Park.
Monday September 8 2003 Arts/Architecture

Muted Tones
Muted Tones is a very cool audio and sensory arts project. Curators are invited to fill up ten minutes with audio which is then posted. This month, friend of the Block, Alicia Frantz has posted a piece called "El" which collages the audio from her rides on our beloved train system. Be sure to listen.
Friday September 5 2003 Arts/Architecture

Help a brother out
Mr. Phineas X Jones needs your help. First look here. Pick one or two or three of the many amazing choices. Then drop him a line. Do it. NOW.
Thursday September 4 2003 Photography

Renee models GB Button
Renee shows off her new cuff (larger). Undoubtedly, we're honoured around these parts since she's sporting one of our buttons. On a side note: the store will be re-opening soon, with posters, buttons and stickers and such.
Wednesday September 3 2003 Gapers

How to: Finger becomes penis
Ruthie shows us evidence (scroll down a little) of how to make your finger turn into a small penis. Make sure you credit her the next time you work that into your party repertoire. It's a sure bet to impress the folks.
Wednesday September 3 2003 Weblogs

Post Chicago
Need a nice new poster by some local talent? Post Chicago is an initiative to bring poster works to the public space. At least that's what they tell us. The posters are nicely priced (read: cheap) so get on over there, support the arts, local talent and get something nice for those bare walls. Maybe you've spotted them around town?
Tuesday September 2 2003 Arts/Architecture

20x20
Quite possibly the reason why Illinois has no In N Out Burger restaurants. Viewing this is total gapers' block. Hungry anyone?
Friday August 29 2003 Found on the Web

Slaughterhouse 9
Rev up your scooters and shine those sunglasses. Slaughterhouse 9 is going on all weekend long. Scooter rally-ists will be put-puttin' around town. You can keep up to date at 2StrokeBuzz and get in touch with some folks at Scooterworks for a good ride or contacts or get in touch with my main scooter man PJ who's involved in all of this in some intricate web-like fashion.
Friday August 29 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Thom Yorke likes the cheese
Craig of Fueled By Coffee stopped by the Mars Cheese Castle recently and guess what he found? Thom Yorke (of Radiohead, come on now!) likes the cheese (scroll down a little to read and view the photo). Ah, Mars Cheese Castle will now be full of emotional hipsters fawining over the penmanship of their über-idol.
Tuesday August 26 2003 People/Sightings

Hot Hot Heat
Today will be hot, humid and wet. Or so the weather says. A high of 98 degrees is in the works with a thunderstorm or two in the afternoon supposedly. Heat indexes to rise to 104 degrees! Best you be careful and stay in the shade if you can, stay hydrated and check on loved ones who don't have the luxury of air-conditioning. Especially any older friends and neighbours.
Tuesday August 26 2003 In the News

Peeing is art
Urinal.net is an interesting website with, well urinals. From all over the world. Some Chicago ones in there, including The Mutiny (a rock show venue) and the Congress Plaza Hotel. Hat tip to our Coastal neighbours, Gothamist.
Thursday August 7 2003 Arts/Architecture

You Are Beautiful
You Are Beautiful is an art theme/project/installation/message that simply rocks. You can help spread the word by sending a SAE and get some stickers in return. Inspiring stuff.
Monday August 4 2003 Arts/Architecture

Gothic Chicago
If you're all about the American Gothic in the Goth sense, then you should take a look at the well-done site, GothicChicago.com. The site is a portal for the Goth community for Chicago featuring events listings, photos, Goth-friendly clubs and more. You can buy some nifty gear at their sister site, SpookyInc and if you're bored of all those bland Hallmark e-cards, send your loved ones a GothCard instead.
Monday August 4 2003 City Life/Cultural

Enemyster
We all know the social network Friendster (what? you're not on Friendster?), but how about the new Enemyster? Or even Fiendster? While Fiendster is a joke, does anyone have a beta code for Enemyster? Drop me a line.
Tuesday July 29 2003 Found on the Web

Poised to shop
Our very own Cinnamon has excellent handmade goods geared towards the modern independent jet-setting female for sale at her site. All reasonably priced (a steal really) and quality made but what makes this kick the proverbial arse, is that about 75% of the proceeds go to various charities. Get your buy on!
Tuesday July 29 2003 Business/Shopping

Donors again
Better late than never, but we've added the few folks who donated just a bit more at the recent GB party. Much thanks to everyone though!
Friday July 25 2003 Gapers

Lay-c Art Sale
Lacey Graves, artiste extrordinaire and her roommate will be having an open house art sale at their building (in their yard I presume), in the grand neighbourhood of Andersonville on Sunday. Judging from the amount of work here and here, there'll be quite some goodies to peruse and purchase. Details here.
Friday July 25 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Veggie/Vegan Chicago again
Veggie food updates: Ian has a nice list of veggie and vegan friendly restaurants in Chicago. Add PJ's excellent and ever expanding vegan food section (with photos of various dishes). Mix well for an animal-friendly time. Also, visit Letizia's Bakery on Division, as they now have a vegan pizza offering.
Tuesday July 22 2003 Eating/Drinking

Free Milk Press
The Free Milk Press from outta Chicago has some interesting things to look at, as well as some handmade journals and a book on photography to purchase. They are also looking for submissions for an "online fine art photography" magazine which will have a featured artist and group exhibition. Details here. They are also creating a gallery of found photographs as well. Via the excellent resource for female artists, Female Persuasion.
Tuesday July 22 2003 Arts/Architecture

Irvine Welsh reads Porno
Porno galore tonight when Irvine Welsh reads from his latest book. At the Metro so don't forget, and yes it's free!
Monday July 21 2003 Books/Authors

Thanks, GB party people
Just a note of thanks to everyone who came out to Ann Sather's last night for the GB Party, it was quite a success. More notes and whatnot to come.
Saturday July 19 2003 Gapers

Hello My Name Is
Unsubstantiated reports inform us that there may be a rash case of "Hello My Name Is" stickers and nametags floating around at tonight's Gapers Block Party. We wonder if these rumours are true. Find out tonight.
Friday July 18 2003 Gapers

Chicago Architecture Foundation
The Chicago Architecture Foundation (good URL by the way) has a nifty little site with interesting exhibits, lectures, tours (tons of choices), and you can even volunteer. Now how many of you remember saying that you wanted to be an architect when you were growing up?
Thursday July 17 2003 Arts/Architecture

Capone's Furniture
In this edition of old school Cribs, we present you with a small 7-piece set of art deco furniture that Mae and Al Capone owned back in the day. I can imagine Al telling Mae in that dresser mirror, "Doll, you're my moll."
Thursday July 17 2003 Radio/TV

You Shall Know Our Eggers
Yo! You know that dude that wrote that hipster book man, that everyone and their soccer moms I know seems to have read? Yeah! That McSweeney's dude! Dave Scrambled Eggs or sumthin? Yeah! He's gonna be reading from his latest book, "You Shall Know Our Velocity" down at the Ballroom at 112 S. Michigan on the AIC grounds. Man, that sounds like some religious thing. Nah man, that cool hipster bookstore that everyone and their soccer moms I know seems to go to is putting it on. Quincy? No man, that's a show about a doctor or sumthin, Quimby's man, Quimby's. Word up.
Wednesday July 9 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Portrait of Black Chicago
Portrait of Black Chicago is a photographic archive of Pulitzer Prize receiver John H.White's time taking photos of Chicago's African American community whilst working for the Chicago Daily News. He now works for the Sun-Times. Great stuff. Via the dense and fulfilling Things Magazine.
Saturday July 5 2003 Photography

The GB Party
So, the big thing has now been unveiled, the Gapers' Block Party (see the special anouncement on the right there), will be on the 18th of July as Ann Sather's in Lakeview. A private room has been secured, and a slew of festivities will happen as well as a chance to mingle, relax and catch up with some of your online friends. We'd love to meet some of you, and it'd be a great opportunity to thank all of you for reading and supporting us. Details here.
Thursday July 3 2003 Gapers

Apple Store critiqued
The Tribune's architecture critic delves into the new Apple Store and it's place on the Magnificent Mile. [Trib login: gapers/gapers]
Tuesday July 1 2003 Business/Shopping

Porch cave-in
Sunday morning as I'm at Urban Bikes procuring some bike parts, a friend informs me of the "...accident at a party in the DePaul area", with a porch collapsing and 12 deaths, which triggers my other friend to immediately call our friends to see if it was a party that they had attended that night (Saturday). Fortunately for the people they and I knew, it wasn't. However, things like this are pretty horrific and it's sad news indeed. For those of you with porches and a tendency to party, BBQ or socially gather people on them, please be careful.
Monday June 30 2003 In the News

New feature, sort of
Just so you know, today's new Detour, Considering the Cross-town Classic, is written in a column-style, and we have comments turned on just for you folks who love to add your two cents. So bring it on.
Friday June 27 2003 Gapers

Critical Mass Friday
Once again, it's the last Friday of the month, and Critical Mass will be going down at 5:30pm congregating at Daley Plaza. It'll be funny if they went down Michigan and passed the Apple Store...
Friday June 27 2003 Transportation

Design Geek
You may be a geek, but are you a Design Geek? Our very own Paul McAleer ponders the usefulness of objects and the way they work. It's fresh and (somewhat) new. I wish he'd put up the old archives.
Thursday June 26 2003 Arts/Architecture

Coudal Anew, plus Huff reads
Revamped and looking good, Coudal reboots fresh. We like the new logo. They have also launched a new feature called Reading which features none other than our Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Huff.
Monday June 23 2003 Found on the Web

G5 Peek
Because it's Applemania week here in Chicago, we present you with this lone image for those of you: a first peek at the Apple G5. Update: they just changed their site, but the G5 is now launched.
Monday June 23 2003 Business/Shopping

African Diaspora Film Festival
Facets Cinematheque has brought the African Diaspora Film Festival to Chicago for the first time after being shown for the last decade in New York City. An engaging array of films with interesting titles, the Chicago Reader has the lowdown as well as recommended viewing. Runs June 20 - 26.
Monday June 23 2003 Film

Dolan Geiman: Art for sale
Just got back from lunch with Jes at the new Earwax (still good, and service is even better, a little more upscale) and right outside Polvo artist Dolan Geiman is selling some of his silkscreened artwork, silkscreened t-shirts, skirts and blouses for girls. Jes picked up some choice products and I picked up two 11x16 silkscreen on wood pieces, here and here for $10. Amazingly good prices (a damn steal!), amazingly good art. So rush on over to Earwax quick, he may not be there much longer though they may head on down to Maxwell St. I also suspect he did this piece (which looks like one of his pieces), a photo I took featuring none other than Andrew and Cinnamon.
Friday June 20 2003 Arts/Architecture

Renegade Craft Fair
Cinnamon's original post on the Renegade Craft Fair led me to the site again today which has been updated to reflect an extended deadline due to exposure here and on WLUW and late requests. It's been extended one more month: July 20th is the deadline. They will aso be featured in Venus soon, which some of the GB family is involved in. Craft on!
Thursday June 19 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Taste of Chicago Music
Speaking of the Taste, the musical line-up is impressive this year featuring some great performers such as Erykah Badu, India Arie, Shemekia Copeland, Guster, Pete Yorn, The Wallflowers, Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello! Oh and don't forget good ol' Kenny Rogers.
Thursday June 19 2003 Music/Clubs

Chicago's Tunnel System
"This website tells the story about a 60-mile, two-foot gauge electric railroad that operated 149 locomotives and over 3000 freight cars in small tunnels forty feet below the streets of downtown Chicago." And it's not the CTA. Amazing photos, backstory and more about these tiny tunnels beneath us. Makes me want to go down there...
Thursday June 19 2003 History

Sex Offender Database
It may be useful to you: The Chicago Police Department Registered Sex Offender Database Search. Leeeengthy.
Thursday June 19 2003 Resources

Kinko's: 99c eco prints
Yesterday I was about to write off Kinko's as what is wrong with corporate America until I walked into their store at Clark and Wellington to print some 11x17 full colour posters when I found out that they are no longer $3.29 but 99c and printed on eco-friendly recycled paper to boot. I jumped on a G4 and printed away. Just a hat tip if you're interested in getting some quick and cheap color posters.
Thursday June 19 2003 Resources

David Schwimmer Vs. Ross
Northwestern U. weighs in on David Schwimmer and so does Studs Terkel in this excellent article [Trib login: gapers/gapers] about the actor and director most commonly referred to as "Ross". Shamefully but gratefully via TMN.
Wednesday June 18 2003 People/Sightings

Chicago: 25th costliest city
To me this is a good thing: Chicago is the 25th costliest city in the world to live in [Trib. login: gapers/gapers]. Tokyo tops it at No. 1, and no other US city aside from New York at No. 10 is in the top ten. LA is the next biggest at No. 22, with us in third, coinciding with the sizes and ranks of the three biggest cities in the US.
Tuesday June 17 2003 City Life/Cultural

NCP: Photo Collages
If you're looking for photographic goodness, you want to get your cute little butt on over to Phineas' Photo Collages, impressive stuff. I haven't been there in a while but was reminded by today's K10K link (mad props and flava!).
Tuesday June 17 2003 Photography

Lake Breeze
Yes, it's almost 11am but damn if I don't feel like having a nice cool drink at the moment. Preferably this scrumptious sounding Lake Breeze by Ian Olsen-Clark.
Monday June 16 2003 Eating/Drinking

MCA Summer Solstice?
I hope this isn't true, but I can't find any information on the MCA's ususally annual Summer Solstice celebration. I'm concluding that they have decided not to hold it this year. A shame because I've been to each and every one in the last four years ever since I found out about it. ~~If there are any members of the MCA or anyone who has info please drop me a line~~. Update: Thanks to the two Jon's who wrote in and let me know that nope, there will be no Summer Solstice this year, perhaps never again. A damn shame.
Saturday June 14 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

And, Yankovic and Cooper!
A quick glance at my co-author's post below reveals my two main men keepin' it real in the weeks to come, also at the Navy Pier Skyline Stage, Alice Cooper and Weird Al Yankovic. They ain't got no rocks to prop, Coop and Al from round the block.
Friday June 13 2003 Music/Clubs

It's Friday and you got nuthin' to do?
It's Friday the 13th folks. It may be cloudy out there but it don't matter kids, because there's plenty to do. You may want to check out head-butter extraordinaire Wesley Willis and his drawings (if you want a sneak peek, head on over to the Burger King in Wicker Park on Milwaukee, they have one of his drawings — quite cool), or be one with the green gentle giant under the stars, or check out some folk, some discrete multi-performances or some good time rock n' roll (my band is playing — plug!). I don't wanna hear, "There's nothing to do!" now. There's aplenty.
Friday June 13 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Ira Cox yes?
In what may become a daily read for me, the misleading-at-first-but-makes-sense-after "North Avenue Traffic Report" (currently in a I-just-moved-no-internet hiatus), a site by one Ira Cox, details his adventures on his fixed gear bike (a man after my own heart), and escapades dumpster diving around the city. It's shocking to see the sort of stuff he finds... Via the indomitable Kiplog.
Thursday June 5 2003 Weblogs

Elizabeth Crane's Top 10
Chicago-based writer Elizabeth Crane, of "The Messenger is Hot", a book which by now you've seen in that you should read section of your local Borders or B&N (it has quite a nice design), lists her Top 10 Reading List, subtitled "An Antidote to Bestselleritis". Undoubtedly, most intellectual and "hipster types" will find this list familiar.
Thursday June 5 2003 Books/Authors

Chicago #1: Arts!
Because we like to be Top Dog, American Style magazine has compiled a list of Top 25 Arts Destinations. And of course, we're Top Dog. Hat tip to Steven for the link.
Tuesday June 3 2003 Arts/Architecture

Food Part 1.
Okay, okay, we frickin' love to eat so here's a few choice links to Chicago foodies with a vegetarian/vegan slant. Jes has her recipes, and so does Jen. PJ has a nice selection of vegan places he's eaten, both American and Thai, lacking only the recipes to his own creations. Paul goes at it on his food webbity and on a related note, Sandy and Luke talk restaurant. If you know other good Chicago food links and recipes, drop me a line.
Tuesday June 3 2003 Eating/Drinking

S'poon-tang'
Whilst browsing some restaurant reviews over at Metromix, I came across this review. I like how the rater expertly gave his advice (warning, a little crude): "OVERPRICED AND OVERHYPED LOUSY SERVICE WITH AN ATTITUDE I HAD A SPOONTANG MARTINI AND IT TASTED LIKE POONTANG YUCK!!" (yes, caps and all). Some may not complain.
Tuesday June 3 2003 Eating/Drinking

Supershere.com
I haven't been there in a while but it seems that Supersphere is alive, well and kicking. If I'm not mistaken, they are Chicago-based and if not, well there's a wide range of media available on the site in the form of indie films and shorts, video features, mp3's and live footage of shows and especially from the early archives: bands playing at the Fireside Bowl.
Monday June 2 2003 Music/Clubs

Graveyards of Chicago
And now, a photographic collection of the more macabre kind, but also extensive and stunning nonetheless. The Graveyards of Chicago (at the best URL there is) features a list of graveyards in and around the Chicagoland area and contains 826 "graven images".
Friday May 30 2003 Photography

Chicago Daily News Negative Coll.
An absolutely jaw-dropping collection of digitized glass negatives of more than 55,000 images of urban life captured between 1902 and 1933 by photographers employed by the Chicago Daily News. Brought to you courtesy of the efforts of the Chicago Historical Society.
Friday May 30 2003 Photography

Instant Chicago gallery
While I thought it would have come back with nothing but stills from the film Chicago, I was quite awed to see some stunning images of Chicago when doing a Google image search for "Chicago".
Wednesday May 28 2003 Arts/Architecture

Chicago Indymedia
Didn't realize this till today but Indymedia has a Chicago sister site. Some interesting activist reporting, especially with Chicago's universities and colleges it seems.
Wednesday May 28 2003 Print/Magazines

Chicago Love
You may remember deceased rapper Tupac's infamous tune, "California Love". A good song indeed. Well Jay-C featuring Adam have rewritten the tune for our fair Windy City and the result is "Chicago Love".
Wednesday May 28 2003 Music/Clubs

ChiActing, a weblog
Stumbled across this, a Chicago Acting weblog, interesting links even if you're not an actor, written and maintained by David Lawrence.
Tuesday May 27 2003 Weblogs

The eventual rip
While we expected this might happen, we didn't expect it this soon. Does this look familiar to anyone? We're flattered. ;) Addendum: Brockett has apologized, and all is well, though really, we weren't all that pissed about it to begin with. We were quite humoured.
Friday May 23 2003 Gapers

PJ Chmiel in Poland
Scooter-ridin', sometimes 'stache sportin', all round good man, PJ Chmiel returns from Poland with a gallery of more than 200 photos of his trip. An amazing photographic journey of Poland, a country with a lot of history. Simply jaw-dropping.
Thursday May 22 2003 Found on the Web

Early warning: Interpol
SourBob drops word of hipster and indie darlings Interpol performing with local Chicago MTV2 brethren OKGO, as well as Carbonfour (which I mention because they practice in the room next door to us) at the Belmont/Sheffield Fest this May 31-June1. I'm partly cranky about it because I may not be here for it... but you had better! Not to be missed as you watch pale dressed-in-black indie boys sweat it out in front of trixies and frat boys drinking crappy beer.
Thursday May 22 2003 Music/Clubs

The KKK in Berwyn
I don't think I will ever understand why the KKK exist, but apparently they have another one of their rallies scheduled for May 31 in Berwyn. Their rally is themed the "Shock & Awe White Pride Rally" whose goal is to remind people in Berwyn whose residents have become decidely "more ethnically mixed in recent years" that it's cool to be white and proud. 25 to 30 Klan members will be there. Sounds like Marilyn Manson's latest tour.
Wednesday May 21 2003 City Life/Cultural

The ATM Method
While this is utterly cheesy, picking up women using your ATM receipts (and possibly would work in any pick-up situation I suppose) is one of those concepts that dumbfound me. At Chicago's YayHooray.
Wednesday May 21 2003

Legitimacy, fame in design?
Well-known Chicago designer Patric King posts an interview with another well-known designer, Rick Valicenti, on Chicago-based Speak Up. The interview is great but the comments about the interview and subsequent discussion is what intrigues me. The questions of legitimacy vs. fame in the "design world" arise, with the usual human thinking process (from intelligent to moronic) debating it out. A great discussion for designers. Add your thoughts if you so wish.
Tuesday May 20 2003 Arts/Architecture

Cobra!
I was browsing the backpage section of the Chicago Reader and came across this ad:

COBRA
Scooters, ATVs, Off-Road, B2B sales, need dealers

I guess Cobra Commander and his cronies are in financial trouble. As plainly evidenced by their stupidity. Yo Joe!

Monday May 19 2003 Found on the Web

Reddingk
Absolutely gorgeous handmade books, prints and t-shirts from ReddingK. Completely inspired by this one, and best of all, they are amazingly cheap considering the quality of artwork here. Be sure to take a look at the Perilous Predicament poster set, amazing in the print section. Side note: Not from Chicago but too good to not link.
Friday May 16 2003 Business/Shopping

Bike Ride: Sat May 17th
As part of the DePaul Bike Club (god do I pimp my alma mater) and the Chicago Bike Fed., there will be a neighborhood bike ride in and around the Lincoln Park area tomorrow afternoon that starts at 1pm. The weather will be perfect for it, and it is open to all. I'll be there so if you're interested in a leisurely bike ride on a mild Saturday afternoon, this is the place to be. Click more for details on where to meet.

Meeting:
The Quad, Lincoln Park Campus DePaul University
Saturday May 17th at 1:00pm

The Quad as it's affectionately known is a the big square of open park-like area in between Kenmore and Clifton avenues on Fullerton.

Mild tune-ups and bike maintenance will be done beforehand if you need it.

For any other questions, please feel free to e-mail me at nh@gapersblock.com.
Friday May 16 2003 Sports/Recreation

Radiohead media blitzkrieg
If you're like me, you may like or even love Radiohead. Chicago music scenesters (and I say that fondly) Pitchforkmedia has the latest and greatest in Radiohead news on their upcoming Hail to the Thief/The Gloaming album out June 10th (US release). Oh, did we mention that the album has an alternate title and each song has an alternate title as well? Oh that Radiohead! Not to mention that they will be playing three other dates in the US yet to be determined? I want to know more!
Thursday May 15 2003 Music/Clubs

David Weinberger @ Seabury
AKMA reminds us that David Weinberger will be speaking at Seabury tonight. Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, 2122 Sheridan Rd, in Evanston. The presentation will be on the second floor in the Seabury Lounge. 7:30pm. Unfortunately, AKMA tells us that the molasses cookies will not be present this time. A shame.
Thursday May 15 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

MT Props and such
It's a very warm feeling to know that in the short time that we have been around, Movable Type has made us a Spotlight Site. We LOVE Movable Type. And we're proud of it!
Tuesday May 13 2003

Got Matrix?
Hell yes I secured tickets for the 10:30 showing of the Matrix Reloaded tomorrow night. Gotsta get mine. Got Matrix?
Tuesday May 13 2003 Film

GB Banners
Due to popular request, you can now show your support for Gapers' Block by linking to us using one of the fifty-two, yes, fifty-two little 88x31 pixel banners on the support page.
Monday May 12 2003

Israel Film Festival
The 19th annual Israel Film Festival has an interesting yet small selection of films playing at the Esquire downtown and in Highland Park. Worth taking in to see what creative vision is coming out from that part of the world. Began 05/11, runs though 05/15. More info here.
Monday May 12 2003 Film

Malaysian/Scandinavian Invasion
Ian Clarks weighs in on my Malaysian Invasion (at the bottom) as his in-vogue drink a few weeks back, but more interestingly, his twist to the recipe (sub Lingonberry juice for Cranberry) becomes the Scandinavian Invasion. A drink that sounds pretty damn tasty.
Monday May 12 2003 Weblogs

Retro Beers
Metromix has an article about Retro Beers and because this is a big thing for us Chicagoans, you should read it. Notable exceptions include The Empty Bottle whose $1.75 PBR's and $1 Huber Bock's is what it's all about.
Friday May 9 2003 Eating/Drinking

Becky Band
Not entirely Chi-town related but Keanu Reeves is in a new band with old Dogstar drummer Rob Mailhouse called "Becky". Which is fronted by Rebecca Lord, of the Real World Seattle, and Road Rules/Real World Challenge. The site sucks major arse, but there are some funny photos.
Friday May 9 2003 Music/Clubs

Conversation about Race
Race, an adapted production of Studs Terkel's Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession directed by and performed by David Schwimmer (you know, of Friends fame) and his theater company, Looking Glass begins June 5th at the Water Tower Water Works. More info. And yes, hat tip from watching CLTV.
Friday May 9 2003 Theatre/Dance

Chicago Meatwave
Though Khoi's in New York, he's been kind enough to point my ignorant arse towards Chicago's current Meatwave.
Thursday May 8 2003 In the News

Student Bikes
I just finished up a site for the Chicago Bike Federation, called Student Bikes. It promotes, educates and informs university and college students on how they too can bike to school. Also, this Monday, May 12th, DePaul University, the DePaul Bicycle Club and Mayor Daley's Bicycle Ambassador's will be hosting a presentation called Commuting to Class. Details: DePaul's Lincoln Park Campus, Levan Center, Rm 502, 2pm-3pm.
Thursday May 8 2003 Transportation

First donors
We won't get into the habit of doing this on Merge but we'd like to formally thank our premiere donor, Jim Coudal and our second donor, Ian Clark. Wow. It is much appreciated. You can support us too, either here or buy a mug from the store. Wowee zowee.
Thursday May 8 2003 Gapers

Detour new: Public Art
A new piece in Detour has been posted: David Elfving explores the good, the bad and the ugly of Chicago's gluttony of public artwork.
Wednesday May 7 2003 Arts/Architecture

Dave Elfving, Alicia Frantz on NPR
Our very own Dave Elfving as well as our friend Alicia Frantz appeared on NPR's Morning Edition. The online version is here. Dave's audio entries are here. There used to be much more but he's taken most of them down and left you with a selection of "The best of". Alicia's sounds are at Audible Frequency. Don't be fooled by the props that I got, I'm still, I'm still Chicago from the block.
Tuesday May 6 2003 Weblogs

Liam Lynch
Some of you have seen Sifl and Olly, the one man sock puppet MTV cult show. Brought to you by Liam Lynch, he now has a new album out and a video in rotation on MTV called "United States of Whatever." It is hilarious as hell and the shortest video in recent times. The Chicago hook-up? Good Pitchfork review (you know the infamous Chicago/Wicker Park based indie music site right? Right.)
Monday May 5 2003 Music/Clubs

Anarchist and Human Rights Film Festival
More Columbia (my, my aren't they busy), as part of their conference taking place at the moment, "Dignity Without Borders: Arts, Media and Human Rights", the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival took place this past May 2-4. Revolutionists should not have missed it. However, the Human Rights Film Festival is balancing that all out starting today, May 5-7.
Monday May 5 2003 Film

Irvine Welsh @ Columbia
Speaking of Columbia, but Bloody 'ell! Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, The Acid House, Filth and Porno, is now teaching at Columbia. Apparently two courses this semester and word on the street is that he is living in Lincoln Park...my eyes are peeled.
Saturday May 3 2003 Schools/Education

Reader Resturant Coupons
This may be worth your while if you like dining out a lot (which I know you do). The Chicago Reader has online Resturant Coupons (and menus) for you to use. I assume this page gets updated every so often. Useful.
Thursday May 1 2003 Eating/Drinking

mP shows
The site is as lo-fi 1993 styling as it gets, but the information is essential. mP Shows (no typo there) is run by the people who bring you the Fireside Bowl and other indie rock venues around the city. Lo-fi equals to quick load time but rifling through for the info you need can at times be a bit of a eye blur.
Tuesday April 29 2003 Music/Clubs

Critical Mass 04/25
Today is the last Friday of the month, which means it's Critical Mass Friday. I'm going to be there and if you ride a bike at all, you should try to be there. Support alternative means of transport! Daley Plaza, 5:30pm
Friday April 25 2003 Transportation

Chicago overcast
Today, Chicago is overcast, while the gardeners outside of my window are mowing and clearing the grass and greenery around the courtyard. While Spring flirts with Chicago, the temps will be in the 50's this week and all is good for now. This is more like a Chicago spring. Oh and those April showers too!
Monday April 21 2003 In the News

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